Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon (13 February 1707 – 12 April 1777), called "Crébillon fils" (to distinguish him from his father), was a French

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

. Born 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. S ...

, he was the son of a famous tragedian,

Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon (13 January 1674 – 17 June 1762) was a French poet and tragedy, tragedian. Biography Crébillon was born in Dijon, where his father, Melchior Jolyot, was Civil law notary, notary-royal. Having been educated at the ...

. He received a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

education at the elite

Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on rue Saint-Jacques in central Paris. It was founded in the ...

. Early on he composed various light works, including plays for the Italian Theatre in Paris, and published a short tale called ''Le Sylphe'' in 1730. From 1729 to 1739 he participated in a series of dinners called "Le Caveau" (named after the cabaret where they were held) with other artists, including

Alexis Piron Alexis Piron (9 July 1689 – 21 January 1773) was a French epigrammatist and dramatist. Life He was born at Dijon, where his father, Aimé Piron, was an apothecary. Piron senior wrote verse in the Burgundian language. Alexis began life as ...

Charles Collé Charles Collé (14 April 1709 – 3 November 1783) was a French dramatist and songwriter. Biography The son of a notary, he was born in Paris. He became interested in the rhymes of Jean Heguanier, the most famous writer of couplets in Paris. Fr ...

, and Charles Duclos. The publication of ''Tanzaï et Néadarné, histoire japonaise'' (1734), which contained thinly veiled attacks on the Papal bull

Unigenitus ''Unigenitus'' (named for its Latin opening words ''Unigenitus dei filius'', or "Only-begotten son of God") is an apostolic constitution in the form of a papal bull promulgated by Pope Clement XI in 1713. It opened the final phase of the Jansen ...

, the

cardinal de Rohan Louis René Édouard de Rohan known as Cardinal de Rohan (25 September 1734 – 16 February 1803), ''prince de Rohan-Guéméné'', was a French Bishop of Strasbourg, politician, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, and cadet of the Rohan f ...

and others, landed him briefly in the prison at Vincennes.Carole Dornier,
Orient romanesque et satire de la religion: Claude Crébillon, Tanzaï et Néadarné et Le Sopha
" ''

Eighteenth-Century Fiction ''Eighteenth-Century Fiction'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to the critical and historical investigation of literature and culture of the period 1660–1832. It is published by the University of Toronto Press. Abstract ...

'' Vol. 11: Iss. 4, Article 1 (1999

/ref> His novel ''

Les Égarements du cœur et de l'esprit ''Les Égarements du cœur et de l'esprit ou Mémoires de M. de Meilcour'' (French: ''Strayings of the Heart and Mind, or Memoirs of M. de Meilcour'') is a novel by Crébillon fils, which appeared in three parts from 1736 to 1738. It is apparentl ...

'' was published between 1736 and 1738 and was, although he continued to edit it in 1738, never finished. Publication of '' Le Sopha, conte moral'', an erotic political satire, in 1742 forced him into exile from Paris for several months. Around 1744 he entered into a romantic liaison with Lady Henrietta Maria Stafford, daughter of a Jacobite chamberlain, and they were married in 1748.Robert L. S. Cowley, ''Marriage a-la-mode: a re-view of Hogarth's narrative art'',

Manchester University Press Manchester University Press is the university press of the University of Manchester, England and a publisher of academic books and journals. Manchester University Press has developed into an international publisher. It maintains its links with th ...

, 1983, , p.105 A son was born in 1746 and died in 1750. Despite financial hardship, they lived together until her death in 1755. Meanwhile, he published ''La Nuit et le moment'' (1745), ''Ah! quel conte!'' and ''Les Heureux Orphelins'' (1754). Inheriting nothing from Henriette, he was forced to sell his large library in 1757 and eventually found steady income as a royal censor (like his father) in 1759. In 1768 and 1772 he published his last two novels, ''Lettres de la duchesse de *** au duc de ***'' and ''Lettres athéniennes.''

Works

* ''Le Sylphe ou Songe de Madame de R***. Écrit par elle-même à Madame de S***'' (1730) full text in French on Gallica
(''The Sylph'', in English translation by Sunny Lou Publishing: , 2021) * ''Lettres de la marquise de M*** au comte de R***'' (1732) * ''Tanzaï et Néadarné'' (incorrectly known as ''L'Écumoire, histoire japonaise'') (1734) full text in French on Gallica
* '' Les Égarements du cœur et de l'esprit ou Mémoires de M. de Meilcour'' (1736–1738) * '' Le Sopha, conte moral'' (1742) full text in French on Gallica
* ''Le dialogue des morts'' (1745) * ''Les amours de Zéokinisul, roi des Kofirans'' (1746) (authorship disputed) * ''Ah quel conte ! Conte politique et astronomique'' (1754) full text in French on Gallica
* ''Les Heureux Orphelins, histoire imitée de l'anglais'' (1754) * ''La Nuit et le moment ou les matines de Cythère : dialogue'' (1755) full text in French on Gallica
* ''Le Hasard du coin du feu. Dialogue moral'' (1763) (full text in French on Gallica
* ''Lettres de la Duchesse de *** au duc de ***'' (1768) full text in French on Gallica
* ''Lettres athéniennes. Extraites du porte-feuille d'Alcibiade'' (1771) (full text in French on Gallica)
/small>

Recent editions

*Standard edition is ''Œuvres complètes'', éd. Jean Sgard, 4 vols., Paris: Classiques Garnier, 1999-2002. *''Lettres de la marquise de M*** au comte de R***,'' Paris, Desjonquères, 1990. *''Les Égarements du cœur et de l'esprit,'' Paris: GF-Flammarion, 1985. *''Le Sopha,'' Paris, Desjonquères, 1984. *''La Nuit et le moment'' et ''Le Hasard du coin du feu,'' Paris, Desjonquères, 1983. *''La Nuit et le moment,'' Livre de Poche Classique, 2003. *''Les Heureux Orphelins,'' Paris, Desjonquères, 1995.

References

*Jean Sgard, ''Crébillon fils, le libertin moraliste'', Paris: Desjonquères, 2002. *

External links

Nuit et Moment
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crebillon, Claude Prosper Jolyot de 1707 births 1777 deaths Writers from Paris 18th-century French writers 18th-century French male writers 18th-century French novelists French male novelists Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni