Jules Arsène Arnaud Claretie (3 December 1840 – 23 December 1913) was a French literary figure and director of the '' Théâtre Français''.

Biography

He was born at

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

. After studying at the lycée Bonaparte in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, he became a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, achieving great success as dramatic critic to ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

'' and to the ''Opinion nationale''. He was a newspaper correspondent during the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, and during the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

acted as staff-officer in the National Guard. In 1885 he became director of the Théâtre Français, and from that time devoted his time chiefly to its administration until his death. During the battle for Octave Mirbeau's comedy '' Les affaires sont les affaires'' ("''Business Is Business''"), the Comité de Lecture was abolished, in October 1901, and Jules Claretie obtained sole responsibility for choosing the modern plays to be performed. Claretie retired from the administration of the Théâtre Français in 1913. He was elected a member of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

in 1888, and took his seat in February 1889, being received by

Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; ; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, writing on Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote wo ...

Works

The long list of his works includes: *''Histoire de la révolution de 1870-1871'' (5 vols., 1875-1876) *''Cinq ans après: l'Alsace et la Lorraine depuis l'annexion'' (1876) *some annual volumes of reprints of his articles in the weekly press, entitled ''La Vie à Paris; La Vie moderne au théâtre'' (1868-1869) *''Molière, sa vie et son œuvre'' (1871) *''Les Prussiens chez eux'' (1875) *''Histoire de la littérature française'' (2nd edition 1905) *''Candidat'' (1887), a novel of contemporary life *''Brichanteau, comédien français'' (1896) ''La Vie à Paris'' was completed in 1913, and published after his death in 21 volumes in 1914. Several plays, some of which are based on novels of his own: *''Les muscadins'' (1874) *''Le régiment de Champagne'' (1877) *''Les Mirabeau'' (1879) *''Monsieur le ministre'' (1883), and others Claretie also wrote three operas for the music of

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

; '' La Navarraise'' (1894), based on his novel ''La cigarette'' and written with Henri Cain, '' Thérèse'' (1907), and '' Amadis'' (1922), a work begun by Massenet in 1895, but shelved and finished in the last years of his life and premiered posthumously.

Works in English translation

* (1876). ''Camille Desmoulins and His Wife''. * (1882). ''Monsieur le Ministre: A Romance in Real Life''. * (1896). ''The Crime of the Boulevard''. * (1897). ''Brichanteau: Actor''. * (1899). ''Vicomte de Puyjoli: A Romance of the French Revolution''. * (1905). ''Prince Zilah''. * (1911). ''Which Is My Husband?'' * (2013). ''Obsession'' 'L'Obsession (Moi et l'Autre)'', 1908translated by

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (25 July 1948 – 24 February 2024) was a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who published a hundred novels and over a hundred volumes of translations. His earlier books were published under the name Br ...

, Black Coat Press,

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Claretie, Jules Arsene Arnaud 1840 births 1913 deaths 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French journalists 19th-century French male writers 19th-century French novelists 20th-century French male writers 20th-century French novelists Administrators of the Comédie-Française French male journalists French male novelists French opera librettists French people of the Franco-Prussian War French theatre critics French theatre managers and producers Members of the Académie Française People from Limoges

Biography

Works

Works in English translation

See also

References

External links