Xavier Boniface Saintine (10 July 1798 – 21 January 1865) was a French dramatist and novelist.

Biography

He was born Joseph Xavier Boniface in Paris in 1798. In 1823, he produced a volume of poetry in the manner of the Romanticists, entitled ''Poèmes, odes, épîtres''. In 1836 appeared '' Picciola'', a novel about the Count de Charney, a political prisoner in

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, whose reason was saved by his cultivation of a tiny flower growing between the paving stones of his prison yard. This story is a masterpiece of the sentimental kind, and has been translated into many European languages.''The Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information'', 11th ed. The novel earned him renown and came to be regarded as a classic of French literature.Garnett, Richard, ed. (1899). ''The International Library of Famous Literature: Selections from the World's Great Writers Ancient, Medieval, and Modern, with Biographical and Explanatory Notes and Critical Essays by Many Eminent Writers'', Vol. X. London: The Standard, p. 4732. He produced many other novels, none of striking individuality with the exception of ''Seul'' ( 1857), which purported to be the authentic record of

Alexander Selkirk Alexander Selkirk (167613 December 1721) was a Scottish privateer and Royal Navy officer who spent four years and four months as a castaway (1704–1709) after being marooned by his captain, initially at his request, on an uninhabited island i ...

on his desert island. Saintine was a prolific dramatist, and collaborated in more than 200 pieces with

Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of ma ...

and others, usually under the name of Xavier. He co-wrote the story which was to form the basis for Bellini's

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

I puritani ' (''The Puritans'') is an 1835 opera by Vincenzo Bellini. It was originally written in two acts and later changed to three acts on the advice of Gioachino Rossini, with whom the young composer had become friends. The music was set to a libretto ...

''. He died in Paris in 1865.

Selected works

A very prolific author, he wrote more than 200 theatre plays and novels under the pen names Saintine, X.B. Saintine, Joseph Xavier Saintine, Xavier. ; Books * ''Poëmes, odes, épitres''. (1823) * ''Jonathan le Visionnaire, contes philosophiques et moraux.'

1825) * ''Histoire des Guerres d'Italie, Campagne des Alpes''. (1826) * ''Histoire de la Civilisation antédiluvienne.'' (1830) * ''Le Mutilé''

(1832) * ''Une Maîtresse de Louis XIII''. in 2 volume

(1834) * '' Picciola.'' (1836) * ''Les Soirées de Jonathan'', in 2 volume

(1837) * ''Antoine, l'ami de Robespierre.'

1839) * ''Les Récits dans la Tourelle : Un Rossignol pris au Trébuchet, etc.'

(1844) * ''Les Métamorphoses de la Femme''

(1846) * ''Les trois Reines.'' (1853) * ''Seul !'' (1857) * ''Chrisna.'

(1860) * ''Trois ans en Judée''

(1860) * ''La belle Cordière et ses trois amoureux.'' (1861) * ''Le Chemin des écoliers'' (1861) including an illustrated edition with 450 vignettes by

Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré ( , , ; 6 January 1832 – 23 January 1883) was a French artist, as a printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engravin ...

, grand in-8, broché

* ''Contes de toutes les couleurs : Léonard le cocher, etc.'

(1862) * ''La Mythologie du Rhin'

;(1862) including an edition illustrated by

, grand in-8, broché. * ''La Mère Gigogne et ses trois filles : La nature et ses trois règnes ; causeries et contes d'un bon papa sur l'histoire naturelle et les objets les plus usuels'' (1863), grand in-8, illustrated with 171 vignettes by Foulquier and Faguet, broché

* ''La Seconde Vie''. (1864) ; Theater plays * 1833 (25 September): ''Têtes Rondes et Cavaliers'', with

Jacques-François Ancelot Jacques-Arsène-Polycarpe-François Ancelot (9 January 1794 – 7 September 1854) was a French dramatist and litterateur. Biography Born in Le Havre, Ancelot became a clerk in the admiralty, and retained his position until the Revolution of ...

Théâtre du Vaudeville The Théâtre du Vaudeville was a theatre company in Paris. It opened on 12 January 1792 on rue de Chartres. Its directors, Piis and Barré, mainly put on "petites pièces mêlées de couplets sur des airs connus", including vaudevilles. Af ...

; it also formed the basis for the libretto of the 1835 opera ''

I Puritani ' (''The Puritans'') is an 1835 opera by Vincenzo Bellini. It was originally written in two acts and later changed to three acts on the advice of Gioachino Rossini, with whom the young composer had become friends. The music was set to a libretto ...

'', by

Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania". Many years later, in 1898, Gius ...

* 1834: ''Le Mari de la favorite'', five-act comedy, with

Michel Masson Auguste-Michel-Benoît Gaudichot pseudonym: Michel Masson (31 July 1800 – 12 thermidor an VIII- – 23 April 1883) was a French playwright, journalist and novelist of the 19th century. Biography A worker's son, he began acting at age 10 and ...

, Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin * 1836: ''Madame Favart'', with

, Théâtre du Palais Royal * 1841: ''Mademoiselle Sallé'' with

Jean-François Bayard Jean-François Alfred Bayard (17 March 1796, Charolles, Saône-et-Loire – 20 February 1853, Paris) was a French playwright. He was the nephew of fellow playwright Eugène Scribe. Life As a law student and a lawyer's clerk, Bayard wrote with p ...

and

Dumanoir Philippe François Pinel, known as Dumanoir (31 July 1806 – 16 November 1865), was a French playwright and librettist. Biography Dumanoir was born in Capesterre-Belle-Eau, Guadeloupe. He was the son of Mrs. Pinel-Dumanoir, whose family plante ...

, Théâtre du Palais Royal

References

;Attribution *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saintine, Xavier Boniface 1798 births 1865 deaths Writers from Paris 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French novelists

Biography

Selected works

References

Further reading

External links