About the Author
Gauthier (also spelled Gaultier) de Coste, Seigneur de La Calprenède (16010-1663), a playwright and a novelist, was born around the year1610 in France, in the Dordogne region. He later moved to Paris, was educated at Toulouse, and for a time served in the guards regiment, where he began crafting his first literary works. After attracting the Queen's notice, he was granted a pension and became a gentleman (Pitou 12). His works show a knowledge of French and Latin, and also possibly Italian and English (Pitou 11). La Calprenède was married in 1648 to Magdaleine de Lyèe and the two had one daughter.
La Calprenède entered the literary world with the "Death of Mithridates," his first drama, in 1635 and in total wrote six tragedies and three tragicomedies during this first phase of his career (France 428), the most well-known of which is entitled The Count of Essex (Taylor 44). Hist literary career is typically separated into two "phases," the first from 1635 to 1642 in which he produced the aforementioned dramas, and the second from 1642 until his death in 1663, during which he wrote his more successful historical romances.
La Calprenède's best known works are the heroic or historical romances Cassandra, which was published in 10 volumes from 1642-1645 or 1650, and Cleopatra, 12 volumes from 1647-1658. Karen Taylor argues these romances were influential pieces in developing the genre of the historical romance (44) and Peter France describes them as "enormously popular for their heroic mythification of contemporary courtly ideals" (428). La Calprenède other romances include Pharamond (Faramond); or The History of France begun in 1661 and left uncompleted at his death, and The Tales or Diversions of Princess Alcidiane, also 1661.
Taylor describes La Calprenède's as drawing inspiration for his novels from "earlier periods such as the fall of the Macedonian and Roman Empires and the foundation of the French monarchy" (44). However, Taylor continues, many of the characters of his works were drawn from the Paris salons and could be easily recognized by his readers (44). According to Benjamin Wells in 1892, La Calprenède was extremely popular during the mid and late seventeenth century, rivaled only by his contemporary Madeleine de Scudery, author of Artamenes and Clelia. Both Cassandra and Cleopatra were quite popular at the time of publication, each receiving multiple reprints during the authors lifetime as well was English translations, most notably by Sir Charles Cotterell (Wells 41).
La Calprenède entered the literary world with the "Death of Mithridates," his first drama, in 1635 and in total wrote six tragedies and three tragicomedies during this first phase of his career (France 428), the most well-known of which is entitled The Count of Essex (Taylor 44). Hist literary career is typically separated into two "phases," the first from 1635 to 1642 in which he produced the aforementioned dramas, and the second from 1642 until his death in 1663, during which he wrote his more successful historical romances.
La Calprenède's best known works are the heroic or historical romances Cassandra, which was published in 10 volumes from 1642-1645 or 1650, and Cleopatra, 12 volumes from 1647-1658. Karen Taylor argues these romances were influential pieces in developing the genre of the historical romance (44) and Peter France describes them as "enormously popular for their heroic mythification of contemporary courtly ideals" (428). La Calprenède other romances include Pharamond (Faramond); or The History of France begun in 1661 and left uncompleted at his death, and The Tales or Diversions of Princess Alcidiane, also 1661.
Taylor describes La Calprenède's as drawing inspiration for his novels from "earlier periods such as the fall of the Macedonian and Roman Empires and the foundation of the French monarchy" (44). However, Taylor continues, many of the characters of his works were drawn from the Paris salons and could be easily recognized by his readers (44). According to Benjamin Wells in 1892, La Calprenède was extremely popular during the mid and late seventeenth century, rivaled only by his contemporary Madeleine de Scudery, author of Artamenes and Clelia. Both Cassandra and Cleopatra were quite popular at the time of publication, each receiving multiple reprints during the authors lifetime as well was English translations, most notably by Sir Charles Cotterell (Wells 41).
