Alfred Capus (25 November 18581 November 1922) was a French

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 ...

and

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 ...

, who was born in

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

and died in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...

Biography

Son of a lawyer from

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, Alfred Capus went to university in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

. After failing several entrance tests for higher-education schools and working as a draughtsman for a while, he went on to become a journalist. One of his first articles was an

obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

of Darwin.Barrett H. Clark (1915), ''Contemporary French Dramatists,'' Stewart & Kidd Company, Cincinnati, page 139 He went on to write humorous pieces for papers such as '' Gaulois'', ''

L'Écho de Paris ''L'Écho de Paris'' was a daily newspaper in Paris from 1884 to 1944. The paper's editorial stance was initially conservative and nationalistic, but it later became close to the French Social Party. Its writers included Octave Mirbeau, Henri d ...

'' and ''L'Illustration''. He also wrote for ''

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 ...

'', under the penname of ''Graindorge''. In 1914, he became the editor of '' Figaro''. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he wrote stridently patriotic pieces. On 12 February 1914, he became 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 ...

Work and themes

In 1878, in collaboration with L. Vonoven, he published a volume of short stories; the next year the two produced a one-act piece, ''Le Mari malgre lui'', at the Théâtre Cluny. This cites Édouard Quet, ''Alfred Capus'' (1904), with appreciations by various authors, in the series of ''Célébrités d'aujourd'hui''. His novels, ''Qui perd gagne'' (1890), ''Faux Depart'' (1891), ''Année des d'aventures'' (1895), describe the struggles of three young men at the beginning of their career. From the first of these he took his first comedy, ''Brignol et sa fille'' (Vaudeville, November 23, 1894). The German film ''

Leontine's Husbands ''Leontine's Husbands'' (German: ''Leontines Ehemänner'') is a 1928 German silent comedy film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Claire Rommer, Georg Alexander and Carl Walther Meyer. It was based on a play by Alfred Capus. A French dancer ...

'', released in 1928 and starring Claire Rommer, Georg Alexander, Adele Sandrock and

Truus van Aalten Geertruida Everdina Wilhelmina van Aalten (August 2, 1910 – June 27, 1999) was a Dutch actress who appeared in many German films in the 1920s and 1930s. Biography Early life van Aalten was born on August 2, 1910, in Arnhem in family of ...

, was adapted from Capus' 1900 comedy ''Les Maris de Leontine''.

Bibliography

Plays

*' (1896), written with

Alphonse Allais Alphonse Allais (20 October 1854 – 28 October 1905) was a French writer, journalist and humorist. Life Allais was born in Honfleur, Calvados (department), Calvados. He died in Paris. Work He is the author of many collections of whimsical writ ...

*' (1897) *' (1897) *' (1898) *' (1900) *' (1900) *' (1901) *' (1901) (the basis of the 1921 comédie musicale ''

La petite fonctionnaire LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

'') *' (1902) *' (1902) *' (1903), with

Emmanuel Arène Emmanuel Arène (1 January 1856 – 14 August 1908) was a French journalist, playwright and republican politician who was deputy for Corsica for many years and senator of Corsica in his last years. He was involved in scandals over maritime mail con ...

, which was produced in London by George Alexander as ''The Man of the Moment'' *' (1904), the first of his plays to be performed at the Théâtre Français *' (1905) *' (1906), written with

Lucien Descaves Lucien Descaves (16 March 1861– 6 September 1949) was a French novelist. Selected works * ''Le Calvaire de Héloïse Pajadou'' (1883) 'Héloïse Pajadou's Calvary.'' Sunny Lou Publishing , 2021 Further reading * * External links * ...

Novels

*' (1890) *' (1891) *' (1910)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capus, Alfred 1858 births 1922 deaths writers from Aix-en-Provence 19th-century French novelists 20th-century French novelists 20th-century French male writers Members of the Académie Française Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French male novelists 19th-century French male writers Le Figaro people