Auguste Vacquerie

Auguste Vacquerie (1819-1895), French journalist and man of letters, was born at Villequier (Seine Inferieure) on 19 November 1819. He was from his earliest days an admirer of Victor Hugo, with whom he was connected by the marriage of his brother Charles with Léopoldine Hugo. His earlier romantic productions include a volume of poems, "L'Enfer de l'esprit" (1840); a translation of the "Antigone" (1844) in collaboration with Paul Meurice; and "Tragaldabas" (1848), a melodrama. He was one of the principal contributors to the "Evenement" and followed Hugo into his exile in Jersey. In 1869 he returned to Paris, and with Meurice and others founded the anti-imperial "Rappel". His articles in this paper were more than once the occasion of legal proceedings. After 1870 he became editor. Other of his works are "Souvent homme varie" (1859), a comedy in verse; "Jean Baudry" (1863), the most successful of his plays; "Aujourd'hui et demain" (1875); "Futura" (pub. 1900), and poems on philosophical and humanitarian subjects. Vacquerie died in Paris on 19 February 1895 of syphilis. He published a collected edition of his plays in 1879 and a collection of essays 1885.

References

*1911