''Les Illuminés'' is a collection of narratives or essays by the French poet and author
Gérard de Nerval
Gérard de Nerval (; 22 May 1808 – 26 January 1855) was the pen name of the French writer, poet, and translator Gérard Labrunie, a major figure of French romanticism, best known for his novellas and poems, especially the collection '' Les ...
. Subtitled ''Recits et Portraits'', it was published in 1852.
The book consists of six narratives relating the adventures and mishaps of historical figures whose lives reflected different aspects of Nerval’s own experiences. It is a male counterpart to his
Les Filles du feu. The concerns of socialism in the eighteenth century and the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
underline most of the narratives. The book is also subtitled: ''Les precurseurs du socialisme''.
Contents
* La Bibliothèque de Mon Oncle, a short introduction
* Le Roi de Bicêtre
* Histoire de l’Abbé de Bucquoy
* Les Confidences de Nicolas
*
Jacques Cazotte
Jacques Cazotte (; 17 October 1719 – 25 September 1792) was a French author.
Life
Born in Dijon, he was educated by the Jesuits. Cazotte then worked for the French Ministry of
the Marine and at the age of 27 he obtained a public office at Mar ...
, a French writer, author of ''
The Devil in Love'', unjustly guillotined during the French revolution at the age of 72. He inspired
E. T. A. Hoffmann and
Charles Nodier
Jean Charles Emmanuel Nodier (29 April 1780 – 27 January 1844) was a French author and librarian who introduced a younger generation of Romanticists to the ''conte fantastique'', gothic literature, and vampire tales. His dream related writings ...
.
* Cagliostro
* Quintus Aucler
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Illumines
1852 books
Essay collections
1852 essays
French non-fiction books
Works by Gérard de Nerval