Gustave Pierre Drouineau (22 February 1798 – 19 April 1878) was a 19th-century French novelist, poet and playwright.

Biography

Coming from a family of doctors of La Rochelle, he moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to study law and live from poetry. In 1826 he obtained a great success with his romantic

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

''Rienzi'' which would tour Europe, experience numerous translations and may have been a source of inspiration to

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

for his opera ''

Rienzi ' (''Rienzi, the last of the tribunes''; WWV 49) is an early opera by Richard Wagner in five acts, with the libretto written by the composer after Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel of the same name (1835). The title is commonly shortened to ''Rienzi ...

'' (

1828 Events January–March * January 4 – Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac succeeds the Comte de Villèle, as Prime Minister of France. * January 8 – The Democratic Party of the United States is organized. * January 22 – Arthu ...

). His plays were presented on the most important Parisian stages of his time including the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin, the Théâtre de l'Odéon, and the

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 ...

. His novel ''Ernest ou le travers du siècle'' published in

1829 Events January–March * January 19 – August Klingemann's adaptation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's ''Faust'' premieres in Braunschweig. * February 27 – Battle of Tarqui: Troops of Gran Colombia and Peru battle to a draw. * March ...

by Timothée Dehay became a best-seller, inspiring even Balzac for his ''

Illusions perdues ''Illusions perdues'' — in English, ''Lost Illusions'' — is a serial novel written by the French writer Honoré de Balzac between 1837 and 1843. It consists of three parts, starting in provincial France, thereafter moving to Paris, and final ...

'' (

1837 Events January–March * January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes 6,000–7,000 casualties in Ottoman Syria. * January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States. * February – Charles Dickens's ...

). The following novels did not experience the same success. After the death of his wife from consumption, he immersed himself in spirituality. In 1833, he founded a sect which he named neo-Christianity and stopped definitively writing in 1835. His family had then him interned at the hospice of Lafond hospice where he plunged into total oblivion and ended his life.

Works

*1823: ''Épître à Casimir Delavigne, sur ses ouvrages'' *1824: ''Épître à quelques poètes panégyristes'' *1826: ''Trois nuits de Napoléon'', 2 vol. *1826: ''Rienzi, tribun de Rome'', tragedy in 5 acts *1828: ''L'Écrivain public'', drama in 3 acts, in prose, with Merville *1828: ''L'Espion'', drama in 5 acts, in prose, with

Louis Marie Fontan Louis Marie Fontan (November 4, 1801 – October 10, 1839), a French man of letters, was born in Lorient and died in Thiais. He began his career as a clerk in a government office, but was dismissed for taking part in a political banquet. At the ag ...

and

Léon Halévy Léon Halévy (4 January 1802 – 2 September 1883) was a French civil servant, historian, and dramatist. Early life Born to a Jewish family in Paris, Léon was the son of the writer and chazzan Élie Halévy and the younger brother of the ...

*1829: ''Ernest, ou Le travers du siècle'', 5 vol. *1829: ''Le Fou'', drama in 3 acts, with

Antony Béraud Antony Béraud, real name Antoine-Nicolas Béraud, (11 January 1791 – 6 February 1860) was a French military, chansonnier, writer, poet, historian and playwright. Life In 1809 he entered the École militaire de Saint-Cyr and became second ...

and

Alexis Decomberousse Alexis Decomberousse, full name Alexis Barbe Benoît Decomberousse, (13 January 1793 – 22 November 1862) was a 19th-century French playwright and vaudevillist. His plays were presented on the most important Parisian stages of the 19th centur ...

*1830: ''Lettre à M. Cauchois-Lemaire'' *1830: ''Françoise de Rimini'', drama in 5 acts, in verses *1830: ''Le Soleil de la liberté'' *1832: ''Le Manuscrit vert'', 2 vol. *1833: ''Les Ombrages, contes spiritualistes'' *1834: ''L'Ironie'' *1834: ''Confessions poétiques'' *1834: ''Le livre de beauté'' *1834: ''Celeste'', 2 vol. *1834: ''Résignée'', 2 vol. *1834: ''Pensées du ciel et de la solitude'' de Pierre-Justin Maurice, foreword, *1876: ''Ernest Dutouquet. Œuvres posthumes, théâtre, poésie diverses'', posthumous

Bibliography

Eugène Fromentin Eugène Fromentin (24 October 182027 August 1876) was a French painter and writer, now better remembered for his writings. Life He was born in La Rochelle. After leaving school he studied for some years under Louis Cabat, the landscape painter. ...

, Émile Beltrémieux, ''Gustave Drouineau'', 1969 * Brian Juden, ''Traditions orphiques et tendances mystiques dans le romantisme français'', 1971, (p. 426) *

Robert Sabatier Robert Sabatier (17 August 1923 – 28 June 2012) was a French poet and writer. He wrote numerous novels, essays and books of aphorisms and poems. He was elected to the Académie Goncourt in 1971, as well as to the Académie Mallarme. He ...

, ''Histoire de la poésie française'', vol.5, 1977, (p. 24) * Madeleine Ambrière, ''Précis de littérature française du XIXe siècle'', 1990, (p. 173) * Michel Prigent, ''Histoire de la France littéraire: Modernités : XIXe - XXe'', 2006, (p. 595) * James Thompson, Barbara Wright, ''Eugène Fromentin, 1820-1876: visions d'Algérie et d'Egypte'', 2008,

External links

Aurore Hillairet, ''L’écrivain renié par sa ville : Gustave Drouineau (1798-1878)'' sur le site du CTHS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drouineau, Gustave 19th-century French novelists 19th-century French poets 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights People from La Rochelle 1798 births 1878 deaths