CROWNED BY THE FRENCH ACADEMY Charles de Bernard was crowned one of the "Immortals" of the French Academy. Born in 1804, de Bernard was from an old, aristocratic French family. Originally intending to be a lawyer, de Bernard was attracted to the literary society of Paris through his friendship with Honore de Balzac, whose work he had read and admired. Eventually moving to Paris, he also emulated his friend's authorship and became a novelist. His style was often praised during his lifetime.

Author Biography

Jules Arsene Arnaud Claretie (1840 - 1913) was a French literary figure and director of the Theatre Francais. He was born at Limoges. After studying at the lycee Bonaparte in Paris, he became a journalist, achieving great success as dramatic critic to Le Figaro and to the Opinion nationale. He was a newspaper correspondent during the Franco-Prussian War, and during the Paris Commune acted as staff-officer in the National Guard. In 1885 he became director of the Theatre Francais 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 Comite de Lecture was abolished, in October 1901 and Jules Claretie obtained sole responsibility for choosing the modern plays to be performed. He was elected a member of the Academie francaise in 1888 and took his seat in February 1889, being received by Ernest Renan.