Theater & Revolution: The Culture of the French Stage

514 Pages·1989·76.204 MB·English

by  Frederick Brown

THEATER
AND REVOLUTION

ALSO BY FREDERICK BROWN
An Impersonation of Angels: A Biography of Jean Cocteau
Père-Lachaise: Elysium as Real Estate

THEATER
A N D
REVOLUTION
THE CULTURE OF THE
FRENCH STAGE
FREDERICK BROWN
Vintage Books
A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE, INC.
NEW YORK
First Vintage Books Edition, May 1989
Copyright © 1980 by Frederick Brown
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York. Originally
published, in hardcover, by The Viking Press, New York, in 1980.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brown, Frederick, 1934—
Theater and revolution.
Reprint. Originally published: New York: Viking Press, 1980.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
i. Theater—France—History. 2. Theater and society—France.
3. France—History—Revolution, 1789—1799.1. Title.
[PN2631.B7 1989] 792'.0994 88-40509
ISBN 0-679-72253-X (pbk.)
Page 492 constitutes an extension of this copyright page.
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 987654321
TO HILTON KRAMER

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities re­
lieved me of teaching duties during the 1975-76 academic year and en­
abled me to pursue my subject without interruption. The University
Awards Council of the State University of New York provided me with
a grant-in-aid to do research in Paris.
The staffs of the Cabinet des Estampes at the Bibliothèque Na­
tionale and of the Bibliothèque de 1’Arsenal were indispensable, the one
in arranging to reproduce illustrations, the other in helping me interpret
the catalogue of the Rondel theater collection, where I found much
useful material.
For their cooperation I should like to thank Yves Bonnat of the
Centre Français du Théâtre, Gerhard Vasco of the SUNY at Stony Brook
Library, and Charles Webber, director of the photo-optics laboratory
at Stony Brook.
I owe a debt of gratitude to Jennifer Snodgrass and to Georgette
Felix for the valuable assistance they gave me at The Viking Press.
This book profited enormously from conversation with friends
and, in particular, from conversations I have had over the years with
my colleague Carol Blum. To them and to her I am deeply grateful.
It was, finally, my good fortune to be able to rely on the editorial
wisdom of Elisabeth Sifton, who offered me guidance when I needed it
and read my manuscript with fine critical intelligence.