Maquet, Auguste

NOVELIST, PLAYWIGHT (FRANCE)
BORN 13 Sep 1813, Paris: rue Quincampoix - DIED 8 Jan 1888, Sainte-Mesme, Yveliners: Château
BIRTH NAME Maquet, Auguste Jules
GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Père Lachaise, Rue du Repos 16 (division 54, ligne 01 (Moiroux: S 10))

Auguste Maquet came from a wealthy family. He was educated at the lycée Charlemagne where Théophile Gautier and Gérard de Nerval were his classmates. In 1831 he became a substitute history teacher at the lycée. After he failed in the public teacher competition (l'agrégation de lettres) in 1832 he left university in 1835 to embark on a literary career.

He published poems and short stories in newspapers and met other young writers. Like Gautier, he was a member of the Petit-Cénacle, a group of young French romantics. After he met Alexandre Dumas in 1838, they collaborated on stories until 1851, without receiving acknowledgement for his co-authorship. Opinions on the importance of his contribution differ until this day. Their collaboration included "The count of Monte Cristo (1844) but it ended after he failed to receive formal co-authorship and royalties in a court case. He continued to write under his own name, producing historical romances and plays.

Maquet was president of the Société des auteurs et compositeurs dramatiques and he became an Officer of the Légion d'honneur in 1861. In 1881 he was a candidate for the Académie française. He died in his castle in Sainte-Mesme in 1888.

Related persons
• cooperated with Dumas, Alexandre (père)
• knew Gautier, Théophile
• knew Nerval, Gérard de

Images

The grave of Auguste Maquet at Père Lachaise, Paris.
Picture by Androom (02 Nov 2018)

 

Sources
Winkler Prins Encyclopedie (editie 1909), 1909
Auguste Maquet - Wikipédia (FR)


Maran, Gustav

Published: 26 Jun 2024
Last update: 26 Jun 2024