Paul Meurice (5 February 1818 - 11 December 1905) was a French novelist and playwright best known for his friendship with

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

Biography

Meurice was born and died in Paris. In 1836, aged eighteen, he was introduced to Hugo by his friend

Auguste Vacquerie Auguste Vacquerie (1819–1895) was a French journalist and man of letters. Biography Vacquerie was born at Villequier (Seine-Maritime) on 19 November 1819. He was from his earliest days an admirer of Victor Hugo, with whom he was connected ...

, and soon became a devoted follower. He had literary ambitions and embarked on a career as playwright. In 1848, Hugo made him the editor-in-chief of a journal he had just founded, called ''L'Événement''. (This resulted in Meurice's imprisonment in 1851, during Hugo's exile.) Their friendship was very deep: the poet was a witness at Meurice's marriage to Palmyre Granger, daughter of the painter

Jean-Pierre Granger Jean-Pierre Granger (11 March 1779, in Paris – 1 December 1840, in Paris) was a French painter who worked in the Neo-Classical style. He is primarily known for portraits, history paintings and mythological scenes, but also created numerous reli ...

. During the twenty years of Hugo's exile, Meurice looked after the financial and literary interests of the proscribed writer. He meanwhile continued his own literary career, publishing novels, some in collaboration with

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

, for whom he would also ghost-write. He adapted ''

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

'', ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'' and ''

Quatre-Vingt-Treize 93 may refer to: * 93 (number) * one of the years 93 BC, AD 93, 1993, 2093, etc. * 93 Seine-Saint-Denis, French department, Paris, Île-de-France * Atomic number 93: neptunium * ''Ninety-Three'', English title of ''Quatrevingt-treize'' (same meanin ...

'' for the stage. With Vacquerie, and Victor Hugo's son

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, Meurice founded the journal '' Le Rappel'' in 1869. On Hugo's death in 1885, Meurice and Vacquerie were made executors of his estate. In this capacity, Meurice compiled some posthumous collections of Hugo's poems. He established the

Maison de Victor Hugo Maison de Victor Hugo () is a writer's house museum located where Victor Hugo lived for 16 years between 1832 and 1848.Information sheet from the Maire de Paris entitled 'Maisons de Victor Hugo'. It is one of the 14 City of Paris' Museums that hav ...

in Paris in 1902.

Works

*''Benvenuto Cellini'', play in 5 acts and 8 scenes, music by Adolphe de Groot, Paris, Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin, 1 April 1852 *''Schamyl'', play in 5 acts and 9 scenes, music by Gondois, Paris, Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin, 26 June 1854 *''Paris'', play in 5 acts, 26 scenes, prologue and epilogue, Paris, Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin, 21 July 1855 *''L'Avocat des pauvres'', play in 5 acts, Paris,

Théâtre de la Gaîté (boulevard du Temple) The Théâtre de la Gaîté, a former Parisian theatre company, was founded in 1759 on the boulevard du Temple by the celebrated Parisian fair-grounds showman Jean-Baptiste Nicolet as the Théâtre de Nicolet, ou des Grands Danseurs.McCormick 19 ...

, 15 October 1856 *''Fanfan la Tulipe'', play in 7 acts, 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 ...

, 6 November 1858 *''Le Maître d'école'', play in 5 acts, Paris, Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique, 10 March 1859 *''Le Roi de Bohème et ses sept châteaux'', play in 6 acts, Paris, Théâtre de l'Ambigu-comique, 22 October 1859 *''François les Bas-Bleus'', play in 5 acts and 7 scenes, Paris, Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique, 31 January 1863 *''Les Deux Diane'', play in 5 acts and 8 scenes, Paris, Théâtre de l'Ambigu-comique, 8 March 1865 *''La Vie nouvelle'', comedy in 4 acts, with prologue, Paris, Théâtre de l'Odéon, 8 April 1867 *''La Brésilienne'', play in 6 acts with prologue, Paris, Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique, 9 April 1878 *''Quatre-vingt-treize'', play based on the novel by Victor Hugo, by Paul Meurice, Paris,

Théâtre de la Gaîté (rue Papin) In 1862 during Haussmann's modernization of Paris, the Théâtre de la Gaîté of the boulevard du Temple was relocated to the rue Papin across from the Square des Arts et Métiers.Comédie-Française, 5 November 1898 ;Plays written in collaboration *With

: ''Paroles'',See: ''Théâtre (études et copies). Hamlet, Falstaff, Paroles, d'après Shakespeare'', 1864
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comedy based on Shakespeare, Paris, Second Théâtre-Français, 28 February 1843 *With Auguste Vacquerie : ''Antigone'', tragedy after

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

, Paris, Second Théâtre-Français, 21 May 1844 *With

: ''Hamlet, prince de Danemark'', play in verse in 5 acts and 8 scenes, after Shakespeare, Paris,

Théâtre historique The Théâtre Historique, a former Parisian theatre located on the boulevard du Temple, was built in 1846 for the French novelist and dramatist Alexandre Dumas. Plays adapted by Dumas from his historical novels were mostly performed, and, althoug ...

, 15 December 1847 *With George Sand : ''

Les Beaux Messieurs de Bois-Doré ''Les Beaux Messieurs de Bois-Doré'' is an 1857 French historical novel by George Sand. History The work was first published as a serial in ''Le Progrès Illustré'' in 1857, then was revived in volume by A. Cadot in 1858. The novel tells a s ...

'', play in 5 acts, 1862 *With George Sand : ''Le Drac'', ''drame fantastique'' in 3 acts, 1865 *With George Sand : ''Cadio'', play in 5 acts and 8 scenes, 1868 *Revision of work by

Paul Foucher Paul-Henri Foucher (21 April 1810 – 24 January 1875) was a French playwright, theatre and music critic, political journalist, and novelist. Biography Early career Foucher was born in Paris and began his career as an employee in the offices of t ...

: ''Notre-Dame de Paris'', play in 5 acts and 12 scenes, based on the novel by Victor Hugo, 1886 *With Charles Hugo : ''Les Misérables'', drama, based on the novel by Victor Hugo, Paris, Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin, 27 December 1899 ;Novels *''La Famille Aubry'' (3 volumes, 1854) *''Louspillac et Beautrubin'' (1854) *''Scènes du foyer. La Famille Aubry'' (1856) *''Les Tyrans de village'' (1857) *''Les Chevaliers de l'esprit. Césara'' (1869)Bibliothèque Hugo - Jussieu Vitrine n° 9 repère 31, 104, 105
/ref> *''Le Songe de l'amour'' (1889) ;Correspondence *''Correspondance entre Victor Hugo et Paul Meurice'', preface by

Jules Claretie Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...

(1909)

Bibliography

*Gustave Simon, « Paul Meurice. Souvenirs intimes », ''La Revue de Paris'', mai-juin 1906, p. 61-96
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meurice, Paul 1818 births 1905 deaths Writers from Paris 19th-century French novelists 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery