Charles François Philibert Masson (1762 in Blamont — 1807 in

Coblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman military post by Drusus around 8 B.C. Its na ...

) was a Frenchman who is notable for the books that he published. His ''Secret Memoirs of the Court of St Petersburg'' described the court of Catherine the Great and Paul I of Russia. They are still in print. Charles François Philibert Masson was a member of the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute ...

The Frenchman started his career as an apprentice

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their part ...

in Neuchâtel, but he was more interested in the arts and traveled to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

where he became the tutor of the children of Count

Nikolai Saltykov Count, then Prince Nikolay Ivanovich Saltykov (russian: Николай Иванович Салтыков, 31 October 1736 – 28 May 1816), a member of the Saltykov noble family, was a Russian Imperial Field Marshal and courtier best known ...

, the Minister of War. The count made him his major domus. He made himself popular in the élite of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

through his wit, his taste in literature and his conversation. He became private secretary to grandduke Alexander of Russia, the man who became Tsar

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...

in 1805. Charles François Philibert Masson was popular in the great houses of Saint Petersburg and at court but the tyrannical Tsar

Paul I Paul I may refer to: *Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch * Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople *Pope Paul I (700–767) *Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia *Pau ...

expelled him from Russia as an outspoken sympathiser of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

. He lived in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

for a while before returning to France where he published his ''Mémoires secrets sur la Russie''. At the time of his death he worked as a French government-official, "secrétaire-général de la préfecture", in Coblenz by the Rhine, in those days a French city.

Some of the works by Charles François Philibert Masson

*''Secret Memoirs of the Court of St Petersburg'', published in 1800 or 1802, translated from the French into English in 1895 *''les Helvétiens: En Huit Chants '', poems, 1799 The ''Conversations-Lexicon oder Encyclopädisches Handwörterbuch für gebildete Stände'' mentions not eight but ten ("Zehn Gesängen") *''La nouvelle Astrée'', a novel about knights *''Ode sur la fondation de la république'', a poem that won a prize from the

in 1802 *''statistique du département de Rhin et Moselle'', a work on geography *''les jardins de Samboursky'', a poem *''Elmire ou la fleur qui ne se flétrit jamais'', a story, Berlin 1790 *''Cours mémorial de géographie'' Berlijn 1787 and St. Petersburg 1790. An instruction for pupils of the school for artillery

References

* ''Secret memoirs of the Court of St. Petersburg, particularly towards the end of the reign of Catherine II, and the commencement of that of Paul I'', translated from the French, accessible o

* ''Ephémérides du comté de Montbéliard, présentant, pour chacun des jours....'' Par Charles Duvernoy, accessible o

1762 births 1807 deaths French poets French male poets French male novelists 18th-century French novelists 18th-century French poets 18th-century French male writers {{france-novelist-stub