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Balzac, Honoré de
(Encyclopedia)Balzac, Honoré de bălˈzăk, bôl–, Fr. ōnôrāˈ də bälzäkˈ [key], 1799–1850, French novelist, b. Tours. Balzac ranks among the great masters of the novel. Of a bourgeois family, he himsel...Balzac, Jean Louis Guez de
(Encyclopedia)Balzac, Jean Louis Guez de də bälzäkˈ [key], 1597?–1654, French writer. His Lettres (1624, tr. 1634) and other writings were a great influence in reforming French prose. Their style was marked ...Traviès de Villers, Charles Joseph
(Encyclopedia)Traviès de Villers, Charles Joseph shärl zhôzĕfˈ trävyĕsˈ də vēlĕrˈ [key], 1804–59, French caricaturist and painter, b. Switzerland. He founded and was a prolific contributor to the popu...Rambouillet, Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de
(Encyclopedia)Rambouillet, Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de kätrēnˈ də vēvônˈ märkēzˈ də räNbo͞oyāˈ [key], 1588–1665, famous Frenchwoman, whose salon exercised a profound influence on French liter...Chouans
(Encyclopedia)Chouans sho͞oˈənz, Fr. shwäN [key] [Norman Fr.,=owls], peasants of W France who rose against the French Revolutionary government in 1793. One of their first leaders was Jean Cottereau, traditional...Barbey d'Aurevilly, Jules Amédée
(Encyclopedia)Barbey d'Aurevilly, Jules Amédée zhül ämādāˈ bärbāˈ dōrvēyēˈ [key], 1808–89, French writer and critic. An aristocrat and monarchist, he supported himself by journalism; his output of c...Huygens, Constantijn
(Encyclopedia)Huygens, Constantijn hoiˈgəns [key], 1596–1687, Dutch humanist and poet, b. The Hague; father of Christiaan Huygens. He was broadly educated in languages, law, and social protocol to follow a pub...realism, in literature
(Encyclopedia)realism, in literature, an approach that attempts to describe life without idealization or romantic subjectivity. Although realism is not limited to any one century or group of writers, it is most oft...Doré, Gustave
(Encyclopedia)Doré, Gustave güstävˈ dôrāˈ [key], 1832–83, French illustrator, engraver, painter, and sculptor. He is best known for his highly imaginative and dramatic illustrations. At first he did his ow...French Academy
(Encyclopedia)French Academy (L'Académie française), learned society of France. It is one of the five societies of the Institut de France. The work of the French Academy has chiefly consisted of the preparation...Browse by Subject
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