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

Pierre-Marie-Charles de Bernard du Grail de la Villette (1804 - 1850), better known simply as Charles de Bernard, was a French writer. He was born in Besancon, member of a very ancient family of the Vivarais, was educated at the college of his native city and studied for the law in Dijon and at Paris. He was awarded a prize by the Academie des Jeux Floraux for his Une fete de Neron in 1829. This first success in literature did not prevent him aspiring to the Magistrature, when the July Revolution broke out and induced him to enter politics. He became one of the founders of the Gazette de Franche-Comte and an article in the pages of that journal about La peau de chagrin earned him the thanks and the friendship of Honore de Balzac. The latter induced him to take up his domicile in Paris and introduced him to the art of novel-writing. 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.