Thomas-Simon Gueullette (2 June 1683 – 2 December 1766) was a French
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
,
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
, scholar and man of letters, who also wrote
fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
s and works on the theatre itself.
Life
A lawyer at the
Châtelet de Paris, then substitute for the procureur du roi, Gueullette was a
bibliophile
Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. A bibliophile or bookworm is an individual who loves and frequently reads and/or collects books.
Profile
The classic bibliophile is one who loves to read, admire and collect books, often ama ...
and collector who collected several placards and journals of his time, His several works on the
Théâtre-Italien, which survive in manuscript, formed the basis for the Parfaict brothers in their ''Histoire de l'ancien Théâtre Italien''.
Gueullette was above all known for the publication of several amusing fairy tales : ''les Soirées bretonnes, nouveaux contes de fées'' (Paris, 1712, in-12) ; ''les Mille et un Quarts-d’heure, contes tartares'' (''Ibid.'', 1715, 2 vol. in-12 ; 1753, 3 vol. in-12) ; ''les Aventures merveilleuses du mandarin Fum-Hoam, contes chinois'' (''Ibid.'', 1723, 2 vol. in-12) ; ''les Sultanes de Guzarate, contes mogols'' (''Ibid.'', 1732, 3 vol. in-12) ; ''les Mille et une Heures, contes péruviens'' (
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, 1733, 2 vol. in-12).
Gueullette was the author of over 60 plays, many of which he put on at the
Théâtre-Italien, where some had great success : ''La vie est un songe'' in 1717 (for which he was the translator), ''Arlequin-Pluton'' (1719) ; ''le Trésor supposé'', en trois actes (s. d.) ; ''l’Horoscope accompli'' (1727), etc.
He also worked as an editor : ''Histoire du petit Jehan de Saintré'' (1724, 3 vol. in-12) ; ''Essays'' by
Montaigne
Michel Eyquem, Sieur de Montaigne ( ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), also known as the Lord of Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularizing the essay as a liter ...
(1725, 3 vol. in-4°) ; ''Works'' of
Rabelais (1732, 6 vol. in-8°) ; ''
Pathelin'', by Pierre Blanchet (1748, in-12), etc.
The
Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal
The Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal (''Library of the Arsenal'', founded 1757) in Paris has been part of the Bibliothèque nationale de France since 1934.
History
The collections of the library originated with the private library of Marc-René, 3rd ...
has nine volumes of manuscripts by Gueullette.
Bibliography
* ''Notes et souvenirs sur le Théâtre-Italien au XVIIIe siècle, publiés par J.-E. Gueullette'', Paris, E. Droz, 1938.
* Pascal Bastien, ''L'Exécution publique à Paris au XVIIIe siècle'',
Seyssel, imprimerie Champ Vallon, 2006.
References
* J. E. Gueullette, ''Thomas-Simon Gueullette : un magistrat du XVIIIe siècle, ami des lettres, du théâtre et des plaisirs'' Genève, Slatkine Reprints, 1977, 1938.
Works online
''Le Chapeau de Fortunatus''(1712)
''Arlequin Pluton''(1719)
''Nocrion, conte allobroge''(1747)
(1756)
Sources
*
Gustave Vapereau
Louis Gustave Vapereau (4 April 1819 – 18 April 1906) was a French writer and lexicographer famous primarily for his dictionaries, the ''Dictionnaire universel des contemporains'' and the ''Dictionnaire universel des littérateurs''.
Biography
...
, ''Dictionnaire universel des littératures'', Paris, Hachette, 1876, p. 950
External links
Thomas-Simon Gueulletteon
Data.bnf.frHis plays and their productions on CESAR''The Thousand and One Quarters of an Hour (Tartarian Tales)''
at Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
''The Transmigrations of the Mandarin Fum-Hoam (Chinese Tales)''
at Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
''Mogul Tales; or, the Dreams of Men Awake''
at HathiTrust
HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries including content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digitized locally ...
''Peruvian Tales: Related in One Thousand and One Hours, by One of the Select Virgins of Cusco''
at Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gueullette
Writers from Paris
1683 births
1766 deaths
18th-century French dramatists and playwrights