Pierre Albéric Second, (17 June 1817 - 2 June 1887 6249
Acte n° 802 (p.13), registre des décès de l'année 1887 pour le 9e arrondissement sur le site des archives numérisées de la Ville de Paris. The acte specifies that Albéric Second was a bachelor.) was a 19th-century French journalist, novelist and playwright.

Biography

The son of a magistrate, Second felt no taste for law and began a literary career. He was successively assistant at '' Le Charivari'', director of ''l'Entr'acte'', co-founder of ''la Comédie parisienne'', editor at ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...

'', founder of ''Le Grand Journal'' with

Hippolyte de Villemessant Jean Hippolyte Auguste Delaunay de Villemessant (22 April 1810, Rouen – 12 April 1879, Monte-Carlo) was a conservative French journalist. Life The son of colonel Pierre Cartier and of Augustine Louise Renée Françoise de Launay de Vill ...

, and columnist at '' l'Événement'' before he took over the management of ''l’Entr’acte'' in 1870. During a short period between 1848 and 1850, Second was sub-prefect of the

Basses-Alpes Alpes-de-Haute-Provence or sometimes abbreviated as AHP (; oc, Aups d'Auta Provença; ) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the south, Vaucluse to the wes ...

department at

Castellane Castellane (; Provençal: ''Castelana'') is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. With about 1,600 inhabitants, Castellane has the distinction of being the least-populated sub-prefecture of France. Its inh ...

. Awarded the

Legion of honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...

in 1859, he was Imperial commissioner of the Théâtre de l'Odéon from 1865 to 1870. In 1869, Second was commissioned to write the words of the

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning o ...

sung at the Opera in honor of the centenary of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

, which is remarkable only for its flat mediocrity. Gifted with a light spirit, a fun and easy skill, Second was especially appreciated for his columns. During the

Revolution of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...

, he composed a cantata in which each stanza ended with these lines: Charles Monselet wrote this portrait of him:

Main publications

*1841: ''Lettres cochinchinoises sur les hommes et les choses du jour écrites à l'empereur de la Chine par trois Mandarins de première classe, traduites par Albéric Second, orientaliste du Charivari'' *1842: ''Les Mémoires d'un poisson rouge'' *1844: ''Les Petits Mystères de l'Opéra'', illustrated by

Paul Gavarni Paul Gavarni was the pen name of Sulpice Guillaume Chevalier (13 January 1804 – 24 November 1866), a French illustrator, born in Paris. Early career Gavarni's father, Sulpice Chevalier, was from a family line of coopers from Burgundy. Paul ...

*1845: ''Histoire politique et culinaire de Joseph Sansot, Propriétaire de l'Hôtel de la Paix'' *1853: ''La Jeunesse dorée par le procédé Ruolz'' *1854: ''Contes sans prétention'' *1855: ''La Part du feu'' *1856: ''À quoi tient l'amour, fantaisies parisiennes'' *1856: ''Les Demoiselles du Ronçay'' *1860: ''Paris au jour le jour'', with

(2 volumes) *1862: ''Vichy-Sévigné, Vichy-Napoléon, ses eaux, ses embellissements, ses environs, son histoire'', suivi d'une notice scientifique et médicale sur les eaux minérales de Vichy par le Dr Casimir Daumas *1868: ''Misères d'un prix de Rome'' *1872: ''Un dîner chez Brébant'' *1872: ''La Semaine des quatre jeudis'' *1877: ''À la recherche d'un gendre'' *1879: ''Le Roman de deux bourgeois'' *1886: ''Le Tiroir aux souvenirs'' ;Theatre *1836: ''Trichemont fils'',

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

in 1 act, with Marc Michel, Théâtre d'

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a commune, the prefecture of the Charente department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Angoumoisins ...

, 29 September *1839: ''Un dragon de vertu'', folie-vaudeville in 1 act, with Marc Michel, Paris, Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques, 27 July *1839: ''Un neveu, s'il vous plaît'', folie-vaudeville in 1 act, with Émile Pagès, Paris,

Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique The Théâtre de l’Ambigu-Comique (, literally, Theatre of the Comic-Ambiguity), a former Parisian theatre, was founded in 1769 on the boulevard du Temple immediately adjacent to the Théâtre de Nicolet. It was rebuilt in 1770 and 1786, but in ...

, 14 October *1842: ''La Peur du mal'', comedy in 1 act, mixed with distincts, with Armand-Numa Jautard, Paris, Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique, 31 March *1842: ''Le Droit d'aînesse'',

comédie en vaudevilles The ''comédie en vaudevilles'' () was a theatrical entertainment which began in Paris towards the end of the 17th century, in which comedy was enlivened through lyrics using the melody of popular vaudeville songs.Barnes 2001. Evolution The an ...

in 2 acts, with

Louis Lurine Louis Lurine (1812 – 30 November 1860) was a 19th-century French homme de lettres, journalist, playwright, novelist and historian. Biography Born in Spain from French parents, he was raised in Paris and Bordeaux. He started writing at an ea ...

, Paris,

Théâtre des Délassements-Comiques Théâtre des Délassements-Comiques is a name that was used for a number of different theatres in Paris from 1785 to 1890. First (boulevard du Temple, 1785–1799) The first Délassements-Comiques was a small theatre on the boulevard du Temple, ...

, 13 August *1854: ''La Comédie à Ferney'', comedy in 1 act and in prose, with Louis Lurine, Paris, Théâtre-Français, 15 July *1855: ''English spoken'', vaudeville in 1 act, with Auguste Joltrois, Paris,

Théâtre du Palais-Royal The Théâtre du Palais-Royal () is a 750-seat Parisian theatre at 38 rue de Montpensier, located at the northwest corner of the Palais-Royal in the Galerie de Montpensier at its intersection with the Galerie de Beaujolais. Brief history ...

, 7 July *1869: ''Une vendetta parisienne'', comedy in 1 act, in prose, Paris,

Théâtre du Vaudeville The Théâtre du Vaudeville was a theatre company in Paris. It opened on 12 January 1792 on rue de Chartres. Its directors, Piis and Barré, mainly put on "petites pièces mêlées de couplets sur des airs connus", including vaudevilles. Af ...

, 11 February *1869: ''La Fontaine de Berny'', opéra comique en 1 acte, music by Adolphe Nibelle, Paris,

Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique The Salle Favart, officially the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique, is a Paris opera house and theatre, the current home of the Opéra-Comique. It was built from 1893 to 1898 in a neo-Baroque style to the designs of the French architect Louis Berni ...

, 2 June *1872: ''Un maître en service'', comedy in 1 act, with Jules Blerzy, Paris, Théâtre du Gymnase, 8 September *1875: '' Un mouton à l'entresol'', comedy in 1 act, with

Eugène Labiche Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".Léon Beauvallet Léon Beauvallet, full name Pierre-Léon-Charles Beauvallet, (22 August 1828 – 22 March 1885) was a 19th-century French actor, playwright and novelist. Author of numerous plays, most of them written in collaboration, as well as feuilletons pu ...

, Paris, Théâtre des Nations, 28 September *1883: ''La Vie facile'', comedy in 3 acts, with Paul Ferrier, Paris, Théâtre du Vaudeville, 19 May *1885: ''Coup de soleil'', comedy in 1 act, with Théodore de Grave, Paris, Théâtre de l'Odéon, 28 October

References

Sources

*Camille Dreyfus, ''La Grande Encyclopédie, inventaire raisonné des sciences, des lettres et des arts'', 1885-1902, vol. XXIX, p. 859. *Pierre Larousse, ''Grand Dictionnaire universel du XIXe siècle'', vol. XIV, 1875, p. 451-452. {{DEFAULTSORT:Second, Alberic 19th-century French journalists French male journalists 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights Writers from Angoulême 1817 births 1887 deaths 19th-century French male writers