Quintin Craufurd (22 September 1743 – 23 November 1819) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

author born at

Kilwinning Kilwinning (, ; ) is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located on the banks of the River Garnock in Ayrshire, west/central Scotland, about southwest of Glasgow. Kilwinning's neighbours are the coastal towns of Stevenston to the west an ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Life

In early life he went to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, where he entered the service of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

. Returning to Europe before the age of forty with a handsome fortune, he settled 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 ...

, where he gave himself to the cultivation of literature and art, and formed a good library and collection of paintings, coins and other objects of antiquarian interest. Craufurd was on intimate terms with the French court, especially with

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

, and was, alongside his lover Eleanore Sullivan, one of those who arranged the

flight to Varennes The Flight to Varennes (French: fuite de Varennes) during the night of 20–21 June 1791 was a significant event in the French Revolution in which the French royal family—comprising Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, the Dauphin Louis Charles, ...

. He escaped to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, but in 1792 he returned to Paris in the hope of rescuing the royal prisoners. He lived among the French émigrés until the

peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France, the Spanish Empire, and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it set t ...

made it possible to return to Paris. Through Talleyrand's influence he was able to remain in Paris after the war was renewed, and he died there on 23 November 1819.

Selected bibliography

He wrote among other works:
''The History, Religion, Learning and Manners of the Hindus''
(1790)
2nd edition
*''Secret History of the King of France and his Escape from Paris'' (first published in 1885)
''Researches concerning the Laws, Theology, Learning and Commerce of Ancient and Modern India''
(1817)
''History of the Bastille''
(1790)
''On Pericles and the Arts in Greece''
(1815) *''Essay on Swift and his Influence on the British Government'' (1808) *''Notice sur Marie Antoinette'' (1809) *''Mémoires de Mme du Hausset'' (1808).
''Essais sur la littérature française''
(1815) Auction of his collection: *''Catalogue de tableaux, gouaches, miniatures ... et autres articles de haute curiosité, composant le cabinet de feu M. Quintin Craufurd, dont la vente aura lieu le 20 novembre 820et jours suivans, etc''. (Par MM. Delaroche et Chles. Paillet.) Paris 1820. ---- 1743 births 1819 deaths 18th-century British non-fiction writers People from Kilwinning Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery British male writers British male non-fiction writers British expatriates in France {{UK-nonfiction-writer-stub