This etext was produced by David Widger <widger@cecomet.net>
[NOTE: There is a short list of bookmarks, or pointers, at the end of thefile for those who may wish to sample the author's ideas before making anentire meal of them. D.W.]
A WOODLAND QUEEN
('Reine des Bois')
By ANDRE THEURIET
With a Preface by MELCHIOR DE VOGUE, of the French academy
CLAUDE-ADHEMAR-ANDRE THEURIET was born at Marly-le-Roi (Seine et Oise),October 8,1833. His ancestors came from Lorraine. He was educated atBar-le-Duc and went to Paris in 1854 to study jurisprudence. Afterfinishing his courses he entered the Department of the Treasury, andafter an honorable career there, resigned as chef-de-bureau. He is apoet, a dramatist, but, above all, a writer of great fiction.
As early as 1857 the poems of Theuriet were printed in the 'Revue deParis' and the 'Revue des Deux Mondes'. His greatest novel, 'Reine desBois' (Woodland Queen), was crowned by the Academie Francaise in 1890.To the public in general he became first known in 1870 by his 'NouvellesIntimes'. Since that time he has published a great many volumes ofpoems, drama, and fiction. A great writer, he perhaps meets the wishesof that large class of readers who seek in literature agreeable rest anddistraction, rather than excitement or aesthetic gratification. He isone of the greatest spirits that survived the bankruptcy of Romanticism.He excels in the description of country nooks and corners; of that politerusticity which knows nothing of the delving laborers of 'La Terre', butonly of graceful and learned leisure, of solitude nursed in revery, andof passion that seems the springtide of germinating nature. He possessesgreat originality and the passionate spirit of a 'paysagiste': picturesof provincial life and family-interiors seem to appeal to his mostpronounced sympathies. His taste is delicate, his style healthy andfrank, and at the same time limpid and animated.
After receiving, in 1890, the Prix Vitet for the ensemble of his literaryproductions, he was elected to the Academy in 1896. To the stageTheuriet has given 'Jean-Marie', drama in verses (Odeon, February 11,1871). It is yet kept on the repertoire together with his 'Maison dedeux Barbeaux (1865), Raymonde (1887), and Les Maugars (1901).'
His novels, tales, and poems comprise a long list. 'Le Bleu et le Noir'(1873) was also crowned by the Academy. Then followed, at shortintervals: 'Mademoiselle Guignon (1874.); Le Mariage de Gerard (1875); LaFortune d'Angele (1876); Raymonde (1877),' a romance of modern life,vastly esteemed by the reading public; 'Le Don Juan de Vireloup (1877);Sous Bois, Impressions d'un Forestier (1878); Le Filleul d'un Marquis(1878); Les Nids (1879); Le fils Maugars (1879); La Maison de deuxBarbeaux (1879); Toute seule (1880); Sauvageonne (1880), his mostrealistic work; Les Enchantements de la Foret (1881); Le Livre de laPayse (poetry, 1882); Madame Heurteloup (1882); Peche de Jeunesse (1883);Le Journal de Tristan, mostly autobiographical; Bigarreau (1885); EusebeLombard (1885); Les OEillets de Kerlatz (1885); Helene (1886); NosOiseaux (beautiful verses, 1886); La Vie Rustique (1887); Amour d'Automne(1888); Josette (1888); Deux Soeurs (1889); Contes pour les Soirs d'Hiver(1890); Charme Dangereux (1891); La Ronde des Saisons et des Mois (1889);La Charmeresse (1891); Fleur de Nice (1896); Bois Fleury (1897); Refuge(1898); Villa Tranquille (1899); Claudette (1900); La Petite Derniere(1901); Le Manuscrit du Chanoine (1902), etc.
Beside