Abbé Prévost
Abbé Prévost, born Antoine François Prévost in 1697 in Hesdin, Flanders, was a notable French writer and Benedictine priest. Initially influenced by Jesuit teachings, he entered a seminary but left to serve as a soldier. After a tumultuous period that included desertion and travel, he returned to monastic life and was ordained a priest in 1726. Prévost gained significant literary acclaim while living in London, where he became prolific, publishing works such as "Memoirs of a Man of Quality," which featured the renowned character Manon Lescaut. His literary interests extended to translating English novels and engaging with philosophical themes, which drew admiration from contemporaries like Voltaire and Rousseau. Prévost's work contributed to the exchange between French and English literature during the 18th century, highlighting his role as a bridge between the two cultures. He passed away in 1763, leaving behind a legacy as a significant figure in sentimental fiction and translation.
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Abbé Prévost
French novelist
- Born: April 1, 1697
- Birthplace: Hesdin, France
- Died: November 25, 1763
- Place of death: Courteuil, France
Biography
Antoine François Prévost (pray-voh), who called himself “Prévost d’Exiles” and is generally referred to as the Abbé Prévost, was born in 1697 at Hesdin, in Artois, Flanders. Influenced by Jesuits at the local school, he decided upon the novitiate, and in 1715 he entered the Collège de La Flèche. For unknown reasons, he left the seminary and enlisted as a soldier. After one tour of duty he decided to return to the seminary, but he was apparently tricked into re-enlisting. He subsequently deserted and traveled to Holland. On his way back to France, he may have met the young woman who was later transformed into one of the most enduring heroines of French sentimental fiction, Manon Lescaut; the factual basis for their encounter is obscure. By 1720 Prévost had returned to the monastic community at St. Maur. He was ordained as a Benedictine priest six years later.
While assigned to the abbey of St. Germain-des-Près in Paris, Prévost abandoned the order and traveled to London in 1728. With excellent connections in England, his productivity was enormous. Memoirs of a Man of Quality After His Retirement from the World, with Manon Lescaut as its seventh volume, was published in 1731. Much of the work on The Life and Entertaining Adventures of Mr. Cleveland, Natural Son of Oliver Cromwell, another episodic romance filled with philosophical speculation based on incidental mishaps, was apparently completed at this time. Between 1729 and 1733, Prévost lived in Holland, where he profited from the burgeoning trade in French translations of English novels forged by the Dutch publishing houses.
In 1734 he revisited London and gathered data for the periodical Le Pour et contre, which he founded and edited after returning to France the following year. He was reconciled with Church authorities and received a sinecure at Evreux. In 1754, his position as Abbé of St. Georges de Gesnes added to his endowment. He died near Chantilly on November 25, 1763.
These generally comfortable circumstances allowed him to concentrate on literary pursuits. With the assistance of fairly sophisticated colleagues in translation, he embarked on challenging projects: the translations of Samuel Richardson’s three controversial novels, a huge compilation of travel accounts, psychological novels, and historical studies.
Prévost was respected and admired by many literary figures, notably Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. His enthusiasm for English literature (for example, the translation of John Dryden’s All for Love, which appeared in Le Pour et contre) places him among the most fully anglicized French writers of the eighteenth century.
Bibliography
Kory, Odile A. Subjectivity and Sensitivity in the Novels of the Abbé Prévost. Montreal: Didier, 1992. Explores the psychological and moral components in Prévost’s fiction.
Miller, Nancy K. The Heroine’s Text: Readings in the French and English Novel, 1722-1782. New York: Columbia University Press, 1980. Offers persuasive interpretations of Manon Lescaut as the lodestone of Prévost’s career.
Mylne, Vivienne. “Prévost: The New Realism.” In The Eighteenth Century French Novel: Techniques of Illusion. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1965. This thirty-page essay adds considerable luster to Prévost’s influential position as purveyor of the sentimental novel.
Segal, Naomi. The Unintended Reader: Feminism and “Manon Lescaut.” New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986. Appraises critical reactions to Prévost’s novel over a two-hundred-year period.