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From The King of the Mountains, by Edmond About, Translated from the French; with a Critical Introduction by Andrew Lang; a Frontispiece and Numerous Other Portraits with Descriptive Notes by Octave Uzanne; The French Classical Romances Complete in Twenty Crown Octavo Volumes, Editor-in-Chief Edmund Gosse, LL.D; New York : P. F. Collier & Son; 1902; pp. xvii-xx.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
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EDMOND FRANÇOIS VALENTIN ABOUT was born at Dieuze, in the Meurthe, on the 14th of February, 1828. He was the son of a grocer; early in boyhood he showed great capacity for study. In 1848 he entered the École Normale, having no competitor above him except Hippolyte Taine. In 1851 he joined the French School in Athens, and resided there until 1853, when he returned to Paris, and adopted literature as his profession. He wrote his experiences of Greek society in a sparkling and satiric volume, “La Grèce Contemporaine,” 1855, which gave great offence in Athens, but was widely read in other parts of Europe. This was presently followed by the lively romance of “Tolla Feraldi,” by “Les Mariages de Paris,” which enjoyed a mad success, by “Le Roi des Montagnes,” by “Germaine,” and by “Les Échasses de Maître Pierre.” All these entertaining productions flowed from About’s fertile pen between 1855 and 1858. He has been called a candid friend of the Second Empire, xviii but his candour did not prevent his being one of Napoleon III’s favourite writers, or from his being introduced to court society at Compiègne. He was a personal friend of M. Émile Ollivier, and enthusiastically supported the declaration of war with Germany. In the meantime he had found his way to the heart of the public with a series of fantastic and farcical stories, among which the most celebrated are “L’Homme à l’Oreille Cassée,” “Madelon,” “Trente et Quarante,” “La Vielle Roche,” and “Les Mariages de Province.” He essayed political economy also, and in 1866 published a treatise, “Le Progrès,” which was much read, and in 1868 “L’ABC du Travailleur.” His “Causeries,” moreover, published in 1865-66, were characteristic and successful. Just before the war broke out, About issued a fascinating study of Egypt, “Le Fellah,” 1869. The fall of the Empire and the agony of France were blows from which About never entirely recovered. He suffered particularly from the loss of his estate at Sauverne, in Alsace, which he had bought in 1858 and had made his country home. He had always opposed the Ultramontanes bitterly, and in politics had been a Republican at heart. But although he recognised the Government, his old record told against him, and in the renovated France he xix found no place. He had been assured at school by one of his tutors, whom his smartness had exasperated, “You will never be anything but a small Voltaire.” For the future, About mainly tried to support the parallel by his active propaganda against the clerical party. For this purpose he now gave the principal part of his time to directing and writing the “XIXme Siècle,” and was of considerable influence in opposing the Government of the 16th of May. In 1878 About was elected president of the Société des Gens de Lettres. In 1880 he published a fine political and patriotic novel, “Le Roman d’un Brave Homme.” About was elected to the French Academy, where he succeeded Jules Sandeau, on the 23d of January, 1884. Unhappily, he died, before he could be received at the Institute, on the 16th of January, 1885. He had suffered from a long and painful illness, and recently from distressing disputes with the proprietor of his periodical, the “XIXme Siècle.” His latest works were “Le Décaméron du Salon,” 1882; “Quinze Journées au Salon,” 1883; and a charming account of a journey to Constantinople, entitled “De Pontois à Stamboul,” 1884.
E. G. [Edmond Gosse]
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