eJournals Papers on French Seventeenth Century Literature 40/79

Papers on French Seventeenth Century Literature
pfscl
0343-0758
2941-086X
Narr Verlag Tübingen
121
2013
4079

Neil Jennings and Margaret Jones: A Biography of Samuel Chappuzeau, a Seventeenth-Century French Huguenot Playwright, Scholar, Traveller, and Preacher. An Encyclopedic Life. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2012. 253 p. + Appendix, Bibliography, Index

121
2013
Bernard Bourque
pfscl40790395
Comptes rendus 395 them in their entirety, if only for their entertainment (and possible historical) value. All in all, this slim volume, the final literary and intellectual legacy of a major 17 th -century scholar and Scarron specialist, is one eminently worthy of a spot on a research library’s shelves. I am uncertain as to the current status of attribution criticism, but Carrier’s superb research skills and his knack for relating deftly Fronde events to those lesser-known Scarron (or other-than-Scarron) works are well worth the reader’s time. Francis Assaf Neil Jennings and Margaret Jones: A Biography of Samuel Chappuzeau, a Seventeenth-Century French Huguenot Playwright, Scholar, Traveller, and Preacher. An Encyclopedic Life. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2012. 253 p. + Appendix, Bibliography, Index. The critical biography provides a detailed examination of the life of Samuel Chappuzeau, best known today for his Théâtre français, published in 1674. The lengthy title of the study announces the meticulous treatment of the subject by the two authors, Neil Jennings and Margaret Jones. They describe Chappuzeau as a figure who has been largely ignored in modern times, particularly in France, and express the hope that their book will “reestablish and enhance” his reputation (3). The ‘Authors’ Note’ stipulates that the biography is addressed not only to academics, but to Chappuzeau’s numerous descendants as well. Indeed, both authors claim “Samuel” (as they choose to call him throughout the study) as an ancestor and are currently working on a detailed genealogy of the seventeenth-century figure. The biography’s ‘Foreword’ is written by Christopher Gossip, Emeritus Professor of the University of New England (Australia) and author of the first critical edition of Chappuzeau’s Le Théâtre français (Tübingen: Narr Verlag, 2009). In addition to the ‘Introduction’ and ‘Conclusion’, the biography is comprised of nine other chapters, the first four of which (Chapters 2-5) provide chronological facts regarding Chappuzeau’s life. With the beginning of the sixth chapter, the book focuses on the issues surrounding the writer’s output as playwright, poet, novelist, traveller and scholar. Chapter 10 outlines Chappuzeau’s other careers, some more real than others, as preacher, lawyer, medic and schoolmaster. The appendix of the book includes a series of seven images concerning Chappuzeau’s life and works. This is followed by four sections: ‘Reprints’, providing a list of the writer’s reprinted works; ‘Genealogy’, containing information about Chappuzeau’s immediate family; ‘Selected extracts’, quoting passages from L’Europe vivante and from a letter PFSCL XL, 79 (2013) 396 written by Pierre Bayle to Jacques Basnage; and, finally, a section entitled ‘Letter to the King’, presenting for the first time Chappuzeau’s letter of 1681 to Louis XIV in which the writer complains of the behaviour of a Lyon bookseller. The work’s extensive bibliography is organized into three sections: ‘Works by Chappuzeau’, comprised of seven sub-divisions; ‘Critical and historical accounts’, organized into three categories; and ‘Published letters’. The remainder of the book contains a list of library codes and an index. The critical biography provides abundant information about Chappuzeau and is richly supported by French and, to a lesser extent, Italian, German and Latin quotations from a number of sources, including correspondence both to and from the writer. For the most part, English translations of these quotations are provided, usually appearing in footnotes, but occasionally presented as part of the main text. In some cases, particularly with long quotations, only a portion of the passage is translated. In other cases, quotations are paraphrased prior to their presentation in lieu of translation. These inconsistencies may be a source of frustration to some readers. Each chapter of the biography has divisions that clearly identify the topics under discussion. These are sometimes numerous, as in the case of Chapter 3 (eleven sub-titles) and Chapter 6 (twenty sub-titles). In some instances, the sections are very brief. While providing clear sign-posts of specific themes that are being treated, the organization of the work in this manner may have the effect of disrupting the flow of the text for some readers, possibly creating the impression that one is being presented with isolated pieces of information. Notwithstanding this, the strength of the work lies primarily in the insights presented about the many dimensions of Chappuzeau’s life. The authors clearly portray the seventeenth-century figure in a sympathetic light, often taking the time to explain his inadequacies. Regarding Chappuzeau’s sudden departure from the Netherlands, where he left behind some debts, they write: “Later, Samuel needed to maintain a certain standard of living when employed at court, and never received his salary for tutoring Prince William. It is hardly surprising, in the circumstances, that he had to depart swiftly from the Netherlands, leaving behind his creditors, though the size of his debts was probably exaggerated by Jurieu. There is a strong possibility that Samuel was one of those people who just cannot manage money” (151). The biography effectively conveys the difficulties faced by Chappuzeau that arose from adherence to his Protestant faith, from his apparent lack of financial management skills and from the enemies he made particularly among Genevan authorities. The image created is that of a very talented, ambitious, industrious and resilient personality who sometimes Comptes rendus 397 made significant errors of judgement and who exercised a number of professions, in part, in order to improve his standing, both socially and economically. Although the authors pay due attention to Chappuzeau the playwright and theatre historian, emphasizing the influence of some of his plays on Molière, they point out that, at most, only six years were devoted to this line of work, most of which were on a part-time basis. The time spent on the writing of travel books and on his encyclopaedias was more substantial. The authors dispel the myth that Chappuzeau was a wanderer, stressing that his tours were well-planned and financially purposeful, resulting in the publication of several travel books, including Lyon dans son lustre (1656), the two volumes of L’Europe vivante (1666-1669) and L’Allemagne prostestante (1671). The first volume of L’Europe vivante was banned by the Catholic Church, probably because it contained a summary of the main religions of the continent. A second version of L’Allemagne prostestante was published in the same year as the original, but this time under the title of Suite de l’Europe vivante, presumably in order to attract a Catholic audience. Chappuzeau also transcribed some of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier’s travel guides to India based on notes. He was largely responsible for the writing of the supplement to Louis Moréri’s Grand Dictionnaire historique and worked assiduously on his own Nouveau Dictionnaire historique, géographique, chronologique & philologique, an encyclopaedia that was never published and whose manuscript is now lost, the only substantial trace of its existence being a 24page proposal published by the author in 1694. The critical biography is a detailed work that will be very useful to scholars of Chappuzeau and of seventeenth-century French culture in general. From an organizational perspective, the study may have benefited from the use of a more thematic approach to the narrative, thereby facilitating the reader’s understanding of the numerous events and issues that made up this “encyclopedic life”. While previous studies have focused on the life and works of this figure, including two theses written in German, one dating back to 1908 and the other, as yet unpublished, written in 1973, the current biography re-examines the many sources of information that are available, yielding what the authors describe as “further insights which had escaped the attention of previous researchers” (6). The biography makes a contribution to the scholarship on Chappuzeau, increasing awareness of the influence of this complex personality on the culture of seventeenth-century France. Bernard Bourque