About
Antoine François Prévost, known as the Abbé Prévost, was a French novelist born on April 1, 1697, in Hesdin and died on November 25, 1763, in Courteuil. After a turbulent youth (Jesuit novice, soldier, Benedictine monk), he fled in 1728 and lived in exile in England and Holland. His masterpiece, Histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut (1731), the seventh volume of his Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité, was banned in France but achieved great success. He founded the journal Le Pour et contre, translated Richardson, and compiled the Histoire générale des voyages. Returning to France in 1734, he became almoner to the Prince de Conti.
* 1697-04-01 — † 1763-11-25
Major works
- Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité (1728-1731)novel
- Histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut (1731)novel
- Histoire de Monsieur Cleveland (1731-1739)novel
- Histoire d'une Grecque moderne (1740)novel
- Histoire générale des voyages (1746-1759)compilation
Key milestones
- 1728Fled the abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and lived in exile in England and Holland.
- 1733Founded the literary journal Le Pour et contre in London.
- 1735Became almoner to the Prince de Conti after returning to France.
Themes
romantic passiontragic fateadventure and exoticismsocial criticismtranslation and literary disseminat
Sources: britannica.com · oxfordreference.com · bnf.fr