Jules Arsène Arnaud Claretie (3 December 1840 – 23 December 1913) was a French literary figure and director of the '' Théâtre Français''.

Biography

He was born at

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

. After studying at the

lycée Bonaparte Lycée Bonaparte is a French international school in Doha, Qatar. It includes levels ''maternelle'' (preschool) through ''lycée'' (senior high school). The École Française de Doha was established in a rented villa in Slata Al Jadida in the 197 ...

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 ...

, he became a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, achieving great success as dramatic critic to ''

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 reco ...

'' and to the ''Opinion nationale''. He was a newspaper correspondent during the Franco-Prussian War, and during the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

acted as staff-officer in the National Guard. In 1885 he became director of the Théâtre Français, and from that time devoted his time chiefly to its administration until his death. During the battle for

Octave Mirbeau Octave Mirbeau (16 February 1848 – 16 February 1917) was a French novelist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, journalist and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, whilst still appealing to the ...

's comedy ''Les affaires sont les affaires'' (''

Business is business ''Business is business'' (french: :fr:Les affaires sont les affaires, Les affaires sont les affaires) is a French comedy in three acts, by the novelist and playwright Octave Mirbeau, performed in April 1903 on the stage of Comédie-Française, in ...

''), the Comité de Lecture was abolished, in October 1901, and Jules Claretie obtained sole responsibility for choosing the modern plays to be performed. He was elected a member of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

in 1888, and took his seat in February 1889, being received by

Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, expert of Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote influe ...

Works

The long list of his works includes: *''Histoire de la révolution de 1870-1871'' (5 vols., 1875-1876) *''Cinq ans après: l'Alsace et la Lorraine depuis l'annexion'' (1876) *some annual volumes of reprints of his articles in the weekly press, entitled ''La Vie à Paris; La Vie moderne au théâtre'' (1868-1869) *''Molière, sa vie et son œuvre'' (1871) *''Les Prussiens chez eux'' (1875) *''Histoire de la littérature française'' (2nd ed. 1905) *''Candidat'' (1887), a novel of contemporary life *''Brichanteau, comédien français'' (1896) Several plays, some of which are based on novels of his own: *''Les muscadins'' (1874) *''Le régiment de Champagne'' (1877) *''Les Mirabeau'' (1879) *''Monsieur le ministre'' (1883), and others Claretie also wrote three operas for the music of

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther' ...

; ''

La Navarraise ''La Navarraise'' (, "The Woman of Navarre") is an opera in two acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Jules Claretie and Henri Cain, based on Claretie's short story ''La cigarette'' (1890). It was first performed at Covent Garden in ...

'' (1894), based on his novel ''La cigarette'' and written with

Henri Cain Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...

, '' Thérèse'' (1907), and '' Amadis'' (1922), a work begun by Massenet in 1895, but shelved and finished in the last years of his life and premiered posthumously.

Works in English translation

* (1876). ''Camille Desmoulins and His Wife''. * (1882). ''Monsieur le Ministre: A Romance in Real Life''. * (1896). ''The Crime of the Boulevard''. * (1897). ''Brichanteau: Actor''. * (1899). ''Vicomte de Puyjoli: A Romance of the French Revolution''. * (1905). ''Prince Zilah''. * (1911). ''Which Is My Husband?'' * (2013). ''Obsession'' 'L'Obsession (Moi et l'Autre)'', 1908translated by

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (born 25 July 1948) is a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped ...

, Black Coat Press,

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Claretie, Jules Arsene Arnaud 1840 births 1913 deaths 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French journalists 19th-century French male writers 19th-century French novelists 20th-century French male writers 20th-century French novelists Administrators of the Comédie-Française French male journalists French male novelists French opera librettists French people of the Franco-Prussian War French theatre critics French theatre managers and producers Members of the Académie Française People from Limoges

Biography

Works

Works in English translation

See also

References

External links