Charles François Philibert Masson (1762 in

Blamont Blamont () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Doubs department The following is a list of the 563 communes of the Doubs department of Fra ...

– 1807 in

Coblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman military post by Drusus . Its name originates from ...

) was a Frenchman who is notable for the books that he published. His ''Secret Memoirs of the Court of St Petersburg'' described the court of

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

and

Paul I of Russia Paul I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination in 1801. Paul remained overshadowed by his mother, Catherine the Great, for most of his life. He adopted the Pauline Laws, laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules ...

. They are still in print. Charles François Philibert Masson was a member of the

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...

The Frenchman started his career as an apprentice

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

, but he was more interested in the arts and traveled to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

where he became the tutor of the children of Count Nikolai Saltykov, the Minister of War. The count made him his major domus. He made himself popular in the élite of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

through his wit, his taste in literature and his conversation. He became private secretary to grandduke Alexander of Russia, the man who became Tsar

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC * Pope Alex ...

in 1805. Charles François Philibert Masson was popular in the great houses of Saint Petersburg and at court but the tyrannical Tsar Paul I expelled him from Russia as an outspoken sympathiser of the French Revolution. He lived in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

for a while before returning to France where he published his ''Mémoires secrets sur la Russie''. At the time of his death he worked as a French government-official, "secrétaire-général de la préfecture", in Coblenz by the Rhine, in those days a French city.

Some of the works by Charles François Philibert Masson

*''Secret Memoirs of the Court of St Petersburg'', published in 1800 or 1802, translated from the French into English in 1895 *''les Helvétiens: En Huit Chants '', poems, 1799 The ''Conversations-Lexicon oder Encyclopädisches Handwörterbuch für gebildete Stände'' mentions not eight but ten ("Zehn Gesängen") *''La nouvelle Astrée'', a novel about knights *''Ode sur la fondation de la république'', a poem that won a prize from the

in 1802 *''statistique du département de Rhin et Moselle'', a work on geography *''les jardins de Samboursky'', a poem *''Elmire ou la fleur qui ne se flétrit jamais'', a story, Berlin 1790 *''Cours mémorial de géographie'' Berlijn 1787 and St. Petersburg 1790. An instruction for pupils of the school for artillery

References

* ''Secret memoirs of the Court of St. Petersburg, particularly towards the end of the reign of Catherine II, and the commencement of that of Paul I'', translated from the French, accessible o

* ''Ephémérides du comté de Montbéliard, présentant, pour chacun des jours....'' Par Charles Duvernoy, accessible o

1762 births 1807 deaths French male poets French male novelists 18th-century French novelists 18th-century French poets 18th-century French male writers {{france-novelist-stub