Jean Richepin (; 4 February 1849 – 12 December 1926) was a French

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

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 ...

and

dramatist 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 ...

Biography

Son of an army doctor, Jean Richepin was born 4 February 1849 at Médéa,

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

. At school and at the

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

he gave evidence of brilliant, if somewhat undisciplined, powers, for which he found physical vent in different directions—first as a franc-tireur in the Franco-German War, and afterwards as actor,

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

and

stevedore A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number ...

—and an intellectual outlet in the writing of poems, plays and novels which vividly reflected his erratic but unmistakable talent. A play, ''L'Étoile'', written by him in collaboration with André Gill (1840–1885), was produced in 1873; but Richepin was virtually unknown until the publication, in 1876, of a volume of verse entitled ''La Chanson des gueux'', when his outspokenness resulted in his being imprisoned and fined for ''outrage aux mœurs''. The same quality characterized his succeeding volumes of verse: ''Les Caresses'' (1877), ''Les Blasphèmes'' (1884), ''La Mer'' (1886), ''Mes paradis'' (1894), ''La Bombarde'' (1899). His novels have developed in style from the morbidity and brutality of ''Les morts bizarres'' (1876), ''La Glu'' (1881) and ''Le Pavé'' (1883) to the more thoughtful psychology of ''Madame André'' (1878), ''Sophie Monnier'' (1884), ''Cisarine'' (1888), ''L'Aîné'' (1893), ''Grandes amoureuses'' (1896) and ''La Gibasse'' (1899), and the more simple portrayal of life in ''Miarka'' (1883), ''Les Braves Gens'' (1886), ''Truandailles'' (1890), ''La Miseloque'' (1892) and ''Flamboche'' (1895). Léon Spilliaert (1917) - La Glu

His plays, though occasionally marred by his characteristic propensity for dramatic violence of thought and language, constitute in many respects his best work. Most of these were produced at the '' Comédie française''. During the 1880s he had an affair with

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including ''La Dame Aux Cameli ...

, the greatest actress of the time. Richepin adapted a libretto from his 1883 novel ''Miarka la fille à l'ours'' for

Alexandre Georges Alexandre Georges (25 February 1850 – 18 January 1938) was a French organist and composer. Life Born in Arras, Georges studied at the local school where he became a teacher of harmony, as well as at the École Niedermeyer de Paris, direct ...

' opera ''Miarka'' (1905), and '' Le mage'' (1891) for the music of

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and '' Werther ...

. A friend of

Emmanuel Chabrier Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier (; 18 January 184113 September 1894) was a French Romantic composer and pianist. His bourgeois family did not approve of a musical career for him, and he studied law in Paris and then worked as a civil servant until the ...

, he helped the composer to correct and salvage the libretto of ''

Le roi malgré lui ''Le roi malgré lui'' (''King in Spite of Himself'' or ''The reluctant king'') is an opéra-comique in three acts by Emmanuel Chabrier of 1887 with an original libretto by Emile de Najac and Paul Burani. The opera is revived occasionally, but ...

'', as well as providing the words for the concert ''scène lyrique'' '' La Sulamite''. His novel ''La Glu'' was the basis for two other operas, by Gabriel Dupont (1910) and Camille Erlanger. A friend of

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...

, Richepin was one of only "seven known recipients" of the first edition of A Season in Hell. On 14 June 1913 a banquet, the '' Ligue des Gourmands, Xeme Diner d’Epicure'' was held at the Hyde Park Hotel in London. The menu was designed and a toast given by

August Escoffier Georges Auguste Escoffier (; 28 October 1846 – 12 February 1935) was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of Marie-Antoi ...

, the league's founder and at the time co-president with Richepin. He died 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. Si ...

. His son Jacques Richepin was also a dramatist.

Bibliography

*''Nana Sahib'' (1883, play) *''Monsieur Scapin'' (1886, play) *''Le Flibustier'' (1888, play; the basis for an opera of the same name by

César Cui César Antonovich Cui ( rus, Це́зарь Анто́нович Кюи́, , ˈt͡sjezərʲ ɐnˈtonəvʲɪt͡ɕ kʲʊˈi, links=no, Ru-Tsezar-Antonovich-Kyui.ogg; french: Cesarius Benjaminus Cui, links=no, italic=no; 13 March 1918) was a Ru ...

) *''Par le glaive'' (1892, play) *''Vers la joie'' (1894, play) *''Le Chemineau'' (1897, play) *''Le Chien de garde'' (1898, play) *''Les Truands'' (1899, play) *''Don Quichotte'' (1905, play) *''L'Aile, Roman des Temps Nouveaux'' (1911) translated as ''The Wing'' by

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (born 25 July 1948) is a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped ...

(2011) * ''Mères Françaises'' (1917, film, translated as ''Mothers of France''), scenario for the war film directed by

Louis Mercanton Louis Mercanton (4 May 1879 – 29 April 1932) was a Swiss people, Swiss film director, screenwriter and actor. Mercanton was born in Nyon, Vaud, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland and died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Partial filmography Director * '' ...

, starring Sarah Bernhardt *''Nouvelle Mythologie Illustree, Tome I & II'' (1920) *''Le Coin des Fous'' (1921) translated as ''The Crazy Corner'' by Brian Stableford (2013)

References

Sources

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External links

Works by Jean Richepin
at Gallica {{DEFAULTSORT:Richepin, Jean 1849 births 1926 deaths People from Médéa Pieds-Noirs École Normale Supérieure alumni Members of the Académie Française Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur French opera librettists 19th-century French poets 20th-century French poets 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French novelists 20th-century French novelists French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War

Biography

Bibliography

References

Sources

Further reading

External links