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Alfred Edwards (journalist)
Encyclopedia
Alfred Charles Edwards was a journalist and magnate of the French press.
) and his French wife Emilie Caporal (from Montauban
), Alfred Edwards studied in Paris
before beginning his press career with Le Figaro
in 1876. There he became known for his reports and, three years later, he moved to Le Gaulois
as an editor, then becoming chief editor of 'échos' (short articles devoted to a famous figure or events in a famous figure's life). On both these papers he nurtured relationships and built up a valuable network of contacts. In 1881, he edited Le Clairon and married the daughter of the famous doctor Jean-Martin Charcot
, whose other daughter re-married to Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau, future president of the Conseil. Edwards was contacted a few months later by a group of American financiers, Chamberlain & Co, who asked him to take control of the creation of Le Matin
, a French adaptation of the British daily newspaper The Morning News.
Le Matin 's first issue came out on 26 February 1884, but Edwards quickly became opposed to the financiers' aims for the paper and so decided to form his own newspaper, Le Matin Français. Three months later, Edwards' new paper was outselling Le Matin, and so he bought Le Matin from its owners and merged the two papers. Undertaking modernisation of the resulting paper, he began using modern technologies such as the telegraph and signing great writers such as Jules Vallès
and the député
Arthur Ranc
.
Le Matin 's political line reflected Edwards' own convictions, which favoured moderate republicans and opposed Boulangisme and socialist ideas. The new press magnate mixed in the highest circles, obtaining the Légion d'honneur
, but also with dubious politicians. He used his paper to support those circles and to defend those politicians, until his implication in the Panama scandals
came to light. In 1895 he sold Le Matin
to the banker Henri Poidatz and launched new projects, financing the illustrated journal Le Petit Bleu de Paris and creating Le Petit Sou for his own political ends.
A millionaire personality known to all Paris, he bought Jean-Jacques Rousseau
's hermitage
at Montmorency
as well as the Théâtre de Paris
and its adjoining casino. He even wrote short comedies and operettas himself, such as Par Ricochet, presented at the Théâtre des Capucines
in 1906, or other pieces intended for the Grand Guignol
. He was also highly thought of among women of the time, marrying in succession Miss Drouart, Hélène Bailly, Jeanne Charcot and then, in 1905, Misia Godebska, the "queen of Paris".
He accepted an offer to run the conservative paper Le Soir
in 1910, bought back in 1873 from the baron Georges de Soubeyran. In 1909, he had married his fifth wife, the actress Ginette Lantelme
, who mysteriously fell from Edwards' yacht and drowned in a river cruise on the Rhine on 25 July 1911. A few months after Lantelme's death, Edwards married another actress, Gabrielle Colonna-Romano
, at that time a young pensionnaire of the Comédie Française.
He died in March 1914 of a severe case of influenza
.
Life
The son of Charles Edwards (an English doctor posted to the Orient, and the personal physician to Fuad Pacha in CairoCairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
) and his French wife Emilie Caporal (from Montauban
Montauban
Montauban is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse....
), Alfred Edwards studied in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
before beginning his press career with Le Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
in 1876. There he became known for his reports and, three years later, he moved to Le Gaulois
Le Gaulois
Le Gaulois was a French daily newspaper, founded in 1868 by Edmond Tarbe and Henri de Pene. After a printing stoppage, it was revived by Arthur Meyer in 1882 with notable collaborators Paul Bourget, Alfred Grévin, Abel Hermant, and Ernest Daudet...
as an editor, then becoming chief editor of 'échos' (short articles devoted to a famous figure or events in a famous figure's life). On both these papers he nurtured relationships and built up a valuable network of contacts. In 1881, he edited Le Clairon and married the daughter of the famous doctor Jean-Martin Charcot
Jean-Martin Charcot
Jean-Martin Charcot was a French neurologist and professor of anatomical pathology. He is known as "the founder of modern neurology" and is "associated with at least 15 medical eponyms", including Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis...
, whose other daughter re-married to Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau, future president of the Conseil. Edwards was contacted a few months later by a group of American financiers, Chamberlain & Co, who asked him to take control of the creation of Le Matin
Le Matin (France)
Le Matin was a French daily newspaper created in 1883 and discontinued in 1944.Le Matin was launched on the initiative of Chamberlain & Co, a group of American financiers, in 1883, on the model of the British daily The Morning News. The direction of the project was entrusted to the French...
, a French adaptation of the British daily newspaper The Morning News.
Le Matin 's first issue came out on 26 February 1884, but Edwards quickly became opposed to the financiers' aims for the paper and so decided to form his own newspaper, Le Matin Français. Three months later, Edwards' new paper was outselling Le Matin, and so he bought Le Matin from its owners and merged the two papers. Undertaking modernisation of the resulting paper, he began using modern technologies such as the telegraph and signing great writers such as Jules Vallès
Jules Vallès
Jules Vallès was a French journalist and author.-Early life:Vallès was born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire. His father was a supervisor of studies , later a teacher, and unfaithful to Jules' mother. Jules was a brilliant student...
and the député
Chamber of Deputies of France
Chamber of Deputies was the name given to several parliamentary bodies in France in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries:* 1814–1848 during the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy, the Chamber of Deputies was the Lower chamber of the French Parliament, elected by census suffrage.*...
Arthur Ranc
Arthur Ranc
Arthur Ranc was a French leftwing politician and writer.Born at Poitiers, Vienne, he was educated for the law...
.
Le Matin 's political line reflected Edwards' own convictions, which favoured moderate republicans and opposed Boulangisme and socialist ideas. The new press magnate mixed in the highest circles, obtaining the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, but also with dubious politicians. He used his paper to support those circles and to defend those politicians, until his implication in the Panama scandals
Panama scandals
The Panama scandals was a corruption affair that broke out in the French Third Republic in 1892, linked to the building of the Panama Canal...
came to light. In 1895 he sold Le Matin
Le Matin
Le Matin is a daily newspaper published by Edipresse in Lausanne, Switzerland. The French language tabloid has a circulation of 69,350 and a readership of 331,000.The Sunday edition Le Matin dimanche has a circulation of 207,945....
to the banker Henri Poidatz and launched new projects, financing the illustrated journal Le Petit Bleu de Paris and creating Le Petit Sou for his own political ends.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
's hermitage
Hermitage (religious retreat)
Although today's meaning is usually a place where a hermit lives in seclusion from the world, hermitage was more commonly used to mean a settlement where a person or a group of people lived religiously, in seclusion.-Western Christian Tradition:...
at Montmorency
Montmorency, Val-d'Oise
Montmorency is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Montmorency was the fief of the Montmorency family, one of the oldest and most distinguished families of the French nobility...
as well as the Théâtre de Paris
Théâtre de Paris
The Théâtre de Paris is a theatre located at 15, rue Blanche in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. It includes a second smaller venue, called the Petit Théâtre de Paris.-History:...
and its adjoining casino. He even wrote short comedies and operettas himself, such as Par Ricochet, presented at the Théâtre des Capucines
Théâtre des Capucines
The Théâtre des Capucines was a former theatre on the boulevard des Capucines in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. It was built in 1889 by architect Édouard-Jean Niermans and then taken over by two brothers, Émile Isola and Vincent Isola, in 1892 to become the Théâtre Isola...
in 1906, or other pieces intended for the Grand Guignol
Grand Guignol
Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol — known as the Grand Guignol — was a theatre in the Pigalle area of Paris . From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962 it specialized in naturalistic horror shows...
. He was also highly thought of among women of the time, marrying in succession Miss Drouart, Hélène Bailly, Jeanne Charcot and then, in 1905, Misia Godebska, the "queen of Paris".
He accepted an offer to run the conservative paper Le Soir
Le Soir
Le Soir is a Berliner Format Belgian newspaper. Le Soir was founded in 1887 by Emile Rossel. It is the most popular Francophone newspaper in Belgium, and considered a newspaper of record.-Editorial stance:...
in 1910, bought back in 1873 from the baron Georges de Soubeyran. In 1909, he had married his fifth wife, the actress Ginette Lantelme
Genevieve Lantelme
Geneviève "Ginette" Lantelme was a French actress, socialite and courtesan, best known as the mistress of Alfred Edwards, from whose yacht she fell to her death in July 1911....
, who mysteriously fell from Edwards' yacht and drowned in a river cruise on the Rhine on 25 July 1911. A few months after Lantelme's death, Edwards married another actress, Gabrielle Colonna-Romano
Gabrielle Colonna-Romano
Gabrielle Colonna-Romano or Colanna Romano , born Gabrielle Dreyfus, was a French actress, famous as a tragedian, sociétaire of the Comédie-Française from 1913 to 1936, and as a student of Sarah Bernhardt. She appeared in several plays and poetry readings...
, at that time a young pensionnaire of the Comédie Française.
He died in March 1914 of a severe case of influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
.
Sources and bibliography
Michael Palmer, Des petits journaux aux grandes agences. Naissance du journalisme moderne, Aubier-Montaigne, 1983 René Le Cholleux, Revue biographique des notabilités françaises contemporaines, tome 3, Paris, 1892, pp. 332-333 Alex-Ceslas Rzewuski, La Double tragédie de Misia Sert, 2006, Editions du Cerf Biography of Alfred EdwardsSee also
- Le Matin (France)Le Matin (France)Le Matin was a French daily newspaper created in 1883 and discontinued in 1944.Le Matin was launched on the initiative of Chamberlain & Co, a group of American financiers, in 1883, on the model of the British daily The Morning News. The direction of the project was entrusted to the French...