The was originally a French gazette and

literary magazine A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and lett ...

first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the

Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003 it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by Ga ...

publishing group. The gazette was published from 1672 to 1724 (with an interruption in 1674–1677) under the title (sometimes spelled ; 1672–1674) and (1677–1724). The title was changed to in 1724. The gazette was briefly suppressed (under

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 ...

) from 1811 to 1815 and ceased publication in 1825. The name was revived in 1890 for both a literary review and (in 1894) a publishing house initially linked with the

symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

movement. Since 1995 has been part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. should not be confused with another literary magazine, the (1823–1830).

The original ''Mercure galant'' and ''Mercure de France''

The ''Mercure galant'' was founded by the writer

Jean Donneau de Visé Jean Donneau de Visé (1638 – 8 July 1710) was a French journalist, royal historian ("historiographe du roi"), playwright and publicist. He was founder of the literary, arts and society gazette "le Mercure galant" (founded in 1672) and ...

in 1672. The name refers to the god Mercury, the messenger of the gods; the title also echos the ''Mercure françoys'' which was France's first literary gazette, founded in 1611 by the Paris bookseller J. Richer. 1672 Mercure Galant January title page

The magazine's goal was to inform elegant society about life in the court and intellectual/artistic debates; the gazette (which appeared irregularly) featured poems, anecdotes, news (marriages, gossip), theatre and art reviews, songs, and fashion reviews, and it became fashionable (and sometimes scandalous) to be mentioned in its pages. Publication stopped in 1674, but began again as a monthly with the name ''Nouveau Mercure galant'' in 1677. The ''Mercure galant'' was a significant development in the history of journalism (it was the first gazette to report on the fashion world and played a pivotal role in the dissemination of news about fashion,

luxury goods In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good (economics), good for which demand (economics), demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spend ...

, etiquette and court life under

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

to the provinces and abroad. In the 1670s, articles on the new season's fashions were also accompanied with engravings. The August 1697 edition contains a detailed description of a popular new puzzle, now known as

peg solitaire Peg solitaire, Solo Noble or simply Solitaire is a board game for one player involving movement of pegs on a board with holes. Some sets use marbles in a board with indentations. The game is known as solitaire in Britain and as peg solitaire in ...

. This article is the earliest known reference to peg solitaire. The gazette was frequently denigrated by authors of the period. The name ''Mercure galant'' was used by the playwright Edmé Boursault for one of his plays critical of social pretensions; when Donneau de Visé complained, Boursault retitled his play ''Comédie sans titre'' (''Play without a title''). The gazette played an important role in the "

Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns The quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns (french: link=no, querelle des Anciens et des Modernes) began overtly as a literary and artistic debate that heated up in the early 17th century and shook the ''Académie Française''. Origins of the ...

", a debate on whether the arts and literature of the 17th century had achieved more than the illustrious writers and artists of antiquity, which would last until the beginning of the eighteenth century. Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle and the ''Mercure galant'' joined the "Moderns".

Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux (; 1 November 1636 – 13 March 1711), often known simply as Boileau (, ), was a French poet and critic. He did much to reform the prevailing form of French poetry, in the same way that Blaise Pascal did to reform the ...

was pushed into the role of champion of the "Anciens", and

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

Jean de La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, , ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his ''Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Euro ...

and Jean de La Bruyère (who is famous for a jibe against the gazette: "''le Mercure''... est immédiatement au dessous de rien" the ''Mercure''... is immediately below nothing" took his defense. The periodical eventually became a financial success and it brought Donneau de Visé comfortable revenues. The ''Mercure de France'' became the uncontested arbiter of French arts and humanities, and it has been called the most important literary journal in prerevolutionary France.

Thomas Corneille Thomas Corneille (20 August 1625 – 8 December 1709) was a French lexicographer and dramatist. Biography Born in Rouen some nineteen years after his brother Pierre, the "great Corneille", Thomas's skill as a poet seems to have shown itself e ...

was a frequent contributor to the gazette. The ''Mercure'' continued to be published after Donneau de Visé's death in 1710. In 1724 its title was changed to ''Mercure de France'' and it developed a semi-official character with a governmentally appointed editor (profits were invested into pensions for writers).

Jean-François de la Harpe Jean-François de La Harpe (20 November 173911 February 1803) was a French playwright, writer and literary critic. Life La Harpe was born in Paris of poor parents. His father, who signed himself Delharpe, was a descendant of a noble family orig ...

was the editor in chief for 20 years; he also collaborated with

Jacques Mallet du Pan Jacques Mallet du Pan, (1749-1800), was a Genevan, political journalist and propagandist. A Calvinist thinker and Counter-Revolutionary reformer, he opposed extreme positions held by both Revolutionary and Counter-Revolutionary partisans during t ...

. Other significant editors and contributors include: Marmontel, Raynal, Chamfort and

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—e ...

. It is on the pages of the May 1734 issue of the ''Mercure de France'' that the term "

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

" makes its first attested appearance – used (in pejorative way) in an anonymous, satirical review of

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and ...

’s ''

Hippolyte et Aricie ('' Hippolytus and Aricia'') was the first opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau. It was premiered to great controversy by the Académie Royale de Musique at its theatre in the Palais-Royal in Paris on October 1, 1733. The French libretto, by Abbé Sim ...

''. Right before the revolution, management was handed over to

Charles-Joseph Panckoucke Charles-Joseph Panckoucke (; 26 November 1736 – 19 December 1798) was a French writer and publisher. He was responsible for numerous influential publications of the era, including the literary journal ''Mercure de France'' and the ''Encyclopéd ...

. During the revolutionary era, the title was changed briefly to ''Le Mercure français''.

stopped its publication in 1811, but the review was resurrected in 1815. The review was last published in 1825.

The modern Mercure de France

History

At the end of the 19th century, the name ''Mercure de France'' was revived by Alfred Vallette. Vallette was closely linked to a group of writers associated with Symbolism who regularly met at the café ''la Mère Clarisse'' in

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. Si ...

(rue Jacob), and which included:

Jean Moréas Jean Moréas (; born Ioannis A. Papadiamantopoulos, Ιωάννης Α. Παπαδιαμαντόπουλος; 15 April 1856 – 31 March 1910), was a Greek poet, essayist, and art critic, who wrote mostly in the French language but also in Greek du ...

, Émile Raynaud, Pierre Arène,

Remy de Gourmont Remy de Gourmont (4 April 1858 – 27 September 1915) was a French symbolist poet, novelist, and influential critic. He was widely read in his era, and an important influence on Blaise Cendrars and Georges Bataille. The spelling ''Rémy'' de Gour ...

Alfred Jarry Alfred Jarry (; 8 September 1873 – 1 November 1907) was a French symbolist writer who is best known for his play ''Ubu Roi'' (1896). He also coined the term and philosophical concept of 'pataphysics. Jarry was born in Laval, Mayenne, France, ...

, Albert Samain and

Charles Cros Charles Cros or Émile-Hortensius-Charles Cros (October 1, 1842 – August 9, 1888) was a French poet and inventor. He was born in Fabrezan, Aude. Cros was a well-regarded poet and humorous writer. As an inventor, he was interested in the field ...

. The first edition of the review appeared on January 1, 1890. Over the next decade, the review achieved critical success, and poets such as

Stéphane Mallarmé Stéphane Mallarmé ( , ; 18 March 1842 – 9 September 1898), pen name of Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools of ...

and

José-Maria de Heredia José-Maria de Heredia (22 November 1842 – 3 October 1905) was a Cuban-born French Parnassian poet. He was the fifteenth member elected for seat 4 of the Académie française in 1894. Biography Early years Heredia was born at Fortuna ...

published original works in it. The review became bimonthly in 1905. In 1889, Alfred Vallette married the novelist Rachilde whose novel ''Monsieur Vénus'' was condemned on moral grounds. Rachilde was a member of the editorial committee of the review until 1924 and her personality and works did much to publicize the review. Rachilde held a

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ( ...

on Tuesdays, and these "mardis du Mercure" would become famous for the authors who attended. Like other reviews of the period, the ''Mercure'' also began to publish books (beginning in 1894). Along with works by symbolists, the ''Mercure'' brought out the first French translations of

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

, the first works of

André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (in 1947). Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism ...

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...

and

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire) of the Wąż coat of arms. (; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of t ...

and the poems of

Tristan Klingsor Tristan Klingsor, birth name (Arthur Justin) Léon Leclère (born Lachapelle-aux-Pots, Oise department, 8 August 1874; died Nogent-sur-Marne, 3 August 1966), was a French poet, musician, painter and art critic, best known for his artistic associat ...

. Later publications include works by: Henri Michaux, Pierre Reverdy, Pierre-Jean Jouve,

Louis-René des Forêts Louis-René des Forêts (January 28, 1918 – December 31, 2001) was a French writer. Life Des Forêts's only novel, ''The Beggars'' (''Les Mendiants'') was published by Éditions Gallimard in 1943.The rest of his works include shorter narrative ...

, Pierre Klossowski,

André du Bouchet André du Bouchet (April 7, 1924 – April 19, 2001) was a French poet. Biography Born in Paris, André du Bouchet lived in France until 1941 when his family left occupied Europe for the United States. He studied comparative literature first ...

, Georges Séféris,

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco inst ...

and

Yves Bonnefoy Yves Jean Bonnefoy (24 June 1923, Tours – 1 July 2016 Paris) was a French poet and art historian. He also published a number of translations, most notably the plays of William Shakespeare which are considered among the best in French. He was pr ...

. With the death of Vallette in 1935, the management was taken over by

Georges Duhamel Georges Duhamel (; ; 30 June 1884 – 13 April 1966) was a French author, born in Paris. Duhamel trained as a doctor, and during World War I was attached to the French Army. In 1920, he published '' Confession de minuit'', the first of a se ...

(who had been editing the review since 1912). In 1938, because of Duhamel's anti-war stance, he was replaced by Jacques Antoine Bernard (in 1945, Bernard would be arrested and condemned for collaboration with the Germans). After the war, Duhamel (who was majority stockholder of the publishing house) appointed Paul Hartman to run the review (Hartman had participated in the resistance and clandestine publishing during the war). In 1958, the

publishing group bought the ''Mercure de France'' and

Simone Gallimard Simone Gallimard (née Cornu; 5 December 1917 – 22 October 1995 ) was a French editor, leader of the Mercure de France.

was chosen as its director. In 1995, Isabelle Gallimard took over direction of the publishing house.

Literary Prizes

Mercure de France has won awards with the following authors: * Salvat Etchart (

Prix Renaudot The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or Prix Renaudot () is a French literary award. History The prize was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of deliberation of the jury of the Prix Goncourt. While not officially related to the ...

1967) * Claude Faraggi (

Prix Fémina The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine '' La Vie heureuse'' (today known as '' Femina''). The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury. They reward French-language works written ...

1975) * Michel Butel (

Prix Médicis The Prix Médicis is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by and . It is awarded to an author whose "fame does not yet match his talent." The award goes to a work of fiction in the French language. In 19 ...

1977) * Jocelyne François (

1980) *

François-Olivier Rousseau François-Olivier Rousseau (born 20 September 1947, Boulogne-Billancourt) is a French journalist and writer. Biography A young literary critic at ''Le Matin de Paris'' at the end of the 1970s, he became a novelist, met with success immediately ...

(

and Prix Marcel Proust 1981) *

Nicolas Bréhal Nicolas Bréhal (Gérald Solnitzki) (6 December 1952 Paris – 31 May 1999 Levallois-Perret) was a French novelist and literary critic. He was literary director at the ''Mercure de France'' and literary critic at ''Le Monde'' and ''Le Figaro''. ...

( Prix Valery Larbaud 1992) * Paula Jacques (

1991) * Dominique Bona (

Prix Interallié The prix Interallié (Interallié Prize), also known simply as ''l'Interallié'', is an annual French literary award, awarded for a novel written by a journalist. History The prize was started on 3 December 1930 by about thirty or so journa ...

1992) * Andreï Makine (

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

and

1995) * Gilles Leroy (

2007) *

Romain Gary Romain Gary (; 2 December 1980), born Roman Kacew (, and also known by the pen name Émile Ajar), was a French novelist, diplomat, film director, and World War II aviator. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt under two names. He i ...

published his novels under the penname

Émile Ajar Romain Gary (; 2 December 1980), born Roman Kacew (, and also known by the pen name Émile Ajar), was a French novelist, diplomat, film director, and World War II aviator. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt under two names. He i ...

(with the complicity of Simone Gallimard) which allowed him to win an unprecedented two

Book series

* Les romantiques allemands (1942) * Collection ivoire (1964) * Domaine anglais (1964) * Collection bleue (1989) * Collection poésie (1990) * Bibliothèque américaine (1993) * Le Petit Mercure (1995) : series in pocket format of short texts which welcomes different literary genres * Bibliothèque étrangère (1999) * Le Temps retrouvé poche (1999) & Le Temps retrouvé (2003) : newspapers, memoirs, travel books, letters, eye witness accounts * Le goût de… (2002): literary anthologies devoted to towns, regions, countries and to numerous themes * Traits et portraits (2002): autobiographical stories

References

The bulk of this article is based on the French Wikipedia article, which is itself taken from the history page of the website of the Mercure de France (see external links). Additional information based on: * DeJean, Joan. ''The Essence of Style: How the French Invented Fashion, Fine Food, Chic Cafés, Style, Sophistication, and Glamour.'' New York: Free Press, 2005 * Harvey, Paul and J.E. Heseltine, eds. ''The Oxford Compagnon to French Literature.'' London: Oxford University Press, 1959. * Patrick Dandrey, ed. ''Dictionnaire des lettres françaises: Le XVIIe siècle.'' Collection: La Pochothèque. Paris: Fayard, 1996.

External links

Official website
* ''Le Mercure de France'' onlin
from 1672 to 1674from 1678 to 1682from 1724 to 1791
an
from 1890 to 1935
in Gallica, the digital library of the BnF. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mercure de France 17th-century French literature 1672 establishments in France Book publishing companies of France Defunct literary magazines published in France French-language magazines Magazines established in 1672 Magazines disestablished in 1825