Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, Henri |
WRITER, BOTANIST (FRANCE) |
BORN 19 Jan 1737, Le Havre, Seine-Maritime - DIED 21 Jan 1814, Éragny GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Père Lachaise, Rue du Repos 16 (division 11, chemin Méhul, ligne 5 (M: X 20)) |
Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre was a botanist as well as a novelist. He served in the army as an engineer on Mauritius in the Indian Ocean and he used his experiences in "Voyage à l'Île de France" (1773). This work attracted the attention of J.J. Rousseau. Their friendship influenced Bernardin's "Études de la nature" (1784). When he published a third edition of "Études" he added "Paul et Virginie" (1787) a short novel about the innocent love of two children on an island. It is this story that he is best remembered for. In 1795 he was elected into the Institut de France and in 1803 into the Académie Française. Related persons was a friend of Rousseau, Jean-Jacques |