Georges de Scudéry
A 17th-century French dramatist and swashbuckling novelist who lived in the long shadow of his more famous sister, Madeleine.
1601–1667 (age 66)·French novelist, dramatist and poet·Birthday: August 22
Biography
Georges de Scudéry was a man of his theatrical times—ambitious, prolific, and fiercely proud. He carved a career as a dramatist, writing over a dozen plays that catered to the popular taste for heroic tragedy and comedy. His novels, like the sprawling 'Almahide,' were grand historical romances in the fashionable précieux style, full of idealized love and valorous deeds. Yet, history remembers him less for his own work than for his relationship to his younger sister, Madeleine de Scudéry, a literary salon hostess and novelist of greater enduring fame. Georges often presented her early works as his own, a common practice that protected a female writer's reputation. He was also a central, combative figure in the literary quarrels of the day, most famously attacking Corneille's 'Le Cid' and vigorously defending his own artistic principles, embodying the contentious spirit of French letters in the 1630s and 40s.
#1 When Georges Was Born
The biggest hits of 1601
Georges's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1601Born
1606Started school
1614Became a teenager
1617Could drive
1619Could vote
1622Turned 21
1631Turned 30
1641Turned 40
1651Turned 50
1661Turned 60
1667Died at 66
Key Achievements
- Authored numerous successful plays, including the tragedy 'La Mort de César' and the comedy 'Le Fils supposé.'
- Wrote lengthy heroic novels such as 'Almahide,' which contributed to the popular romance genre of the era.
- Served as the Governor of the Fort de Notre-Dame de la Garde in Marseille, a post obtained through patronage.
- Was a prominent participant in the literary debates of the French Academy's early years.
Did You Know?
He fiercely defended his sister Madeleine's work and often published her early writings under his name.
He was a founding member of the Académie française, occupying Seat 32.
He had a well-documented, public feud with the great playwright Pierre Corneille.
Before writing full-time, he served as a soldier in the French army.
“A hero's virtue must be as grand as the trials he overcomes.”
