Stendhal
(January 23, 1783 - March 23, 1842)
Marie-Henri Beyle, better known as
Stendhal, was a
19th centuryFrenchwriter.
Born in
Grenoble,
France, he had a miserable childhood in stifling provincial France but blossomed in the military and theatrical worlds of the
First French Empire. He travelled extensively in Germany and visited Russia (as part of
Napoleon's army), but formed a particular attachment to
Italy, where he spent much of the remainder of his career, serving as French
consul and writing.
Beyle used the pseudonym "Stendhal", supposedly chosen as an
anagram of "Shetland" (although
Georges Perec may have invented this explanation - references toLe Rouge et le Noir feature extensively in Perec's unfinished last novel53 jours). --- Alternative explanation: some scholars believes he borrowed his nom de plume from the german city of Stendal.
Contemporary readers did not fully appreciate Stendhal's realistic style during the
Romantic period in which he lived; he was not fully appreciated until the beginning of the
20th century. He dedicated his writing to "the Happy Few", referring to those who would one day recognise his own genius. Today, Stendhal's works attract attention for their
irony and
psychological and historical aspects.
Stendhal was an avid fan of music, particularly the composers
Cimarosa,
Mozart, and
Rossini, the latter of whom he wrote an extensive biography,Vie de Rossini (
1824), now more valued for its wide-ranging musical criticism than its historical accuracy.
He died in
Paris in 1842 and is interred in the
Cimetière de Montmartre.
Stendhal's brief, saucy memoir, Souvenirs d'Egotisme (Memoirs of an Egotist) was published posthumously in
1892.
Novels include:Armance (
1827)
Le Rouge et le Noir (
1830) (variously translated asScarlet and Black,Red and Black,The Red and the Black)
La Chartreuse de Parme (
1839) (The Charterhouse of Parma)
Lucien Leuwen (
1835-) (unfinished)
Lamiel (
1840-) (unfinished)
Taken from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stendhal
See also:
http://www.armance.com/
http://www.philagora.net/stendhal.htm
http://www.armance.com/ http://www.nuff.ox.ac.uk/Users/Temple/stendhal/sbiog.htm