Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvrai
Encyclopedia
Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvrai (12 June 1760 – 25 August 1797) was a French
novelist, playwright, journalist, politician, and diplomat.
Born in Paris
as the son of a stationer
, he became a bookseller's clerk, and first attracted attention with the first part of his novel Les Amours du chevalier de Faublas (Paris, 1787); it was followed in 1788 by Six semaines de la vie du chevalier de Faublas and in 1790 by La Fin des amours du chevalier de Faublas. The heroine, Lodoiska, was modelled on the wife of a jeweller in the Palais Royal
, with whom he had an affair. She divorced her husband in 1792 and married Louvet in 1793. His second novel, Émilie de Varmont (1791), was intended to prove the utility and necessity of divorce
and of the marriage of priests
, questions raised by the French Revolution
- all his works tended to advocate revolutionary ideals.
He attempted to have one of his unpublished plays, L'Anoblié conspirateur, performed at the Comédie-Française
, and records naïvely that one of its managers, d'Orfeuil, listened to the reading of the first three acts impatiently, exclaiming at last: "I should need cannon in order to put that piece on the stage". A sort of farce
at the expense of the army of the Royalist
émigré
s, La Grande Revue des armes noire et blanche, had, however, better success: it ran for twenty-five nights.
, after the removal of King Louis XVI
from the Palace of Versailles
to Paris in October 1789, had attacked the capital (which was still relatively peaceful), and argued that the court should be established elsewhere. This led to Louvet's election to the Jacobin Club
, for which, as he wrote bitterly in his Memoirs, the qualifications were then a genuine civisme
and some talent.
A self-styled philosophe
and radical revolutionary, Louvet subsequently campaigned against despotism
and reaction
, which he identified with the moderate constitutional monarchy
advocated by the Marquis de la Fayette
, the Abbé Maury, and other disciples of Niccolò Machiavelli
.
his Petition contre les princes, which would have major influence during the First French Empire
. Elected deputy to the Assembly for the départment of Loiret
, he gave his first speech in January 1792.
He attached himself to the Girondist
s, whose vague deism
, sentimental humanitarianism
and ardent republicanism he fully shared, and from March to November 1792 he published, at Jean Marie Roland's expense, a bi-weekly journal-affiche
, of which the title, La Sentinelle, proclaimed its mission to open all of Europe
to the Enlightenment
at a time when, after the Habsburg
declaration of war on France and the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars
, a schism between the king and his subjects had become obvious.
On 10 August (the effective fall of the Monarchy
), Louvet became editor of the Journal des Débats
, and, both as a journalist and deputy in the National Convention
, made himself conspicuous by his attacks on Maximilien Robespierre
, Jean-Paul Marat
and the other Montagnards
, whom he later claimed he would have succeeded in bringing to justice in after the September Massacres
were it not for the poor support he received from the Girondist leaders. It is more probable, however, that his gauche libel
contributed to the Girondist downfall (as well as his own): he had denounced Robespierre as "a Royalist", Marat as the main agent
of the British
, and other Montagnards as crypto-Orléanist
s.
His courageous attitude at the king's trial, when he supported the appeal to the people
over the outright death penalty, added to hostility towards his party. Nonetheless, he defended the Girondists to the last moment, displaying an incriminating courage. After the crisis of 31 May 1793, when François Hanriot
and the sans-culottes stormed the Convention, he joined his defeated faction in their flight from Paris. His wife Lodoiska, who had actively cooperated in his campaigns, was also placed in danger by the developments.
and the fall of Robespierre (27 July 1794), he was recalled to the Convention, when he was instrumental in bringing Jean-Baptiste Carrier
and the others responsible for the Noyades
of Nantes
to justice. His influence became considerable: he was elected a member of the Committee of the Constitution, president of the Assembly, and member of the Committee of Public Safety
, against the overgrown power of which he had in earlier days protested.
His conflict with the Montagnards had not made him reactionary: he attacked the Jeunesse dorée, and was regarded by many as a pillar of Jacobinism
. La Sentinelle reappeared, under his auspices, preaching union among republicans. Under the Directory
(1795) he was elected a member of the Council of Five Hundred
, of which he was secretary, and also a member of the Institut de France
.
Meanwhile, he had returned to his trade and set up a bookseller's shop in the Palais Royal. But, in spite of the fact that he had once more denounced the Jacobins in La Sentinelle, he had come to be seen as a major enemy by the Jeunesse dorée. His shop was attacked by the young men with cries of À bas la Loupe, à bas la belle Ledoiska, à bas les gardes du corps de Louvet! ("Down with the She-Wolf, down with beautiful Ledoiska, down with Louvet's bodyguards!"); he and his wife were insulted in the streets and the theatres: À bas les Louvets et les Louvetants! ("Down with the Louvets and the Louvetants!" - a reference to his guards, based on the antiquated senses of the verb louveter), and he was compelled to leave Paris. The Directory appointed him to the consulship
at Palermo
, in the Kingdom of Naples
, but he died before taking up his post.
, was published in Paris in 1889.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
novelist, playwright, journalist, politician, and diplomat.
Early life and literary works
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...
as the son of a stationer
Stationery
Stationery has historically meant a wide gamut of materials: paper and office supplies, writing implements, greeting cards, glue, pencil case etc.-History of stationery:...
, he became a bookseller's clerk, and first attracted attention with the first part of his novel Les Amours du chevalier de Faublas (Paris, 1787); it was followed in 1788 by Six semaines de la vie du chevalier de Faublas and in 1790 by La Fin des amours du chevalier de Faublas. The heroine, Lodoiska, was modelled on the wife of a jeweller in the Palais Royal
Palais Royal
The Palais-Royal, originally called the Palais-Cardinal, is a palace and an associated garden located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris...
, with whom he had an affair. She divorced her husband in 1792 and married Louvet in 1793. His second novel, Émilie de Varmont (1791), was intended to prove the utility and necessity of divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
and of the marriage of priests
Clerical celibacy
Clerical celibacy is the discipline by which some or all members of the clergy in certain religions are required to be unmarried. Since these religions consider deliberate sexual thoughts, feelings, and behavior outside of marriage to be sinful, clerical celibacy also requires abstension from these...
, questions raised by the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
- all his works tended to advocate revolutionary ideals.
He attempted to have one of his unpublished plays, L'Anoblié conspirateur, performed at the Comédie-Française
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
, and records naïvely that one of its managers, d'Orfeuil, listened to the reading of the first three acts impatiently, exclaiming at last: "I should need cannon in order to put that piece on the stage". A sort of farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
at the expense of the army of the Royalist
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
émigré
Émigré
Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....
s, La Grande Revue des armes noire et blanche, had, however, better success: it ran for twenty-five nights.
Early activism
Louvet was first brought into notice as a politician by his Paris justifié, in reply to a truly incendiary pamphlet in which Jean Joseph MounierJean Joseph Mounier
Jean Joseph Mounier was a French politician and judge.He was born at Grenoble . He studied law, and in 1783 obtained a judgeship at Grenoble. He took part in the struggle between the parlements and the court in 1788, and promoted the meeting of the estates of Dauphiné at Vizille , on the eve of...
, after the removal of King Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
from the Palace of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
to Paris in October 1789, had attacked the capital (which was still relatively peaceful), and argued that the court should be established elsewhere. This led to Louvet's election to the Jacobin Club
Jacobin Club
The Jacobin Club was the most famous and influential political club in the development of the French Revolution, so-named because of the Dominican convent where they met, located in the Rue St. Jacques , Paris. The club originated as the Club Benthorn, formed at Versailles from a group of Breton...
, for which, as he wrote bitterly in his Memoirs, the qualifications were then a genuine civisme
Civic virtue
Civic virtue is the cultivation of habits of personal living that are claimed to be important for the success of the community. The identification of the character traits that constitute civic virtue have been a major concern of political philosophy...
and some talent.
A self-styled philosophe
Philosophe
The philosophes were the intellectuals of the 18th century Enlightenment. Few were primarily philosophers; rather they were public intellectuals who applied reason to the study of many areas of learning, including philosophy, history, science, politics, economics and social issues...
and radical revolutionary, Louvet subsequently campaigned against despotism
Despotism
Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. That entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy...
and reaction
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
, which he identified with the moderate constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
advocated by the Marquis de la Fayette
Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette , often known as simply Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer born in Chavaniac, in the province of Auvergne in south central France...
, the Abbé Maury, and other disciples of Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic...
.
Deputy and girondist
On 25 December 1791 he presented at the tribune of the Legislative AssemblyLegislative Assembly (France)
During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from 1 October 1791 to September 1792. It provided the focus of political debate and revolutionary law-making between the periods of the National Constituent Assembly and of the National Convention.The Legislative...
his Petition contre les princes, which would have major influence during the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
. Elected deputy to the Assembly for the départment of Loiret
Loiret
Loiret is a department in north-central FranceThe department is named after the river Loiret, a tributary of the Loire. The Loiret is located wholly within the department.- History :...
, he gave his first speech in January 1792.
He attached himself to the Girondist
Girondist
The Girondists were a political faction in France within the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention during the French Revolution...
s, whose vague deism
Deism
Deism in religious philosophy is the belief that reason and observation of the natural world, without the need for organized religion, can determine that the universe is the product of an all-powerful creator. According to deists, the creator does not intervene in human affairs or suspend the...
, sentimental humanitarianism
Humanitarianism
In its most general form, humanitarianism is an ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings. Humanitarianism has been an evolving concept historically but universality is a common element in its evolution...
and ardent republicanism he fully shared, and from March to November 1792 he published, at Jean Marie Roland's expense, a bi-weekly journal-affiche
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, of which the title, La Sentinelle, proclaimed its mission to open all of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
at a time when, after the Habsburg
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
declaration of war on France and the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
, a schism between the king and his subjects had become obvious.
On 10 August (the effective fall of the Monarchy
10th of August (French Revolution)
On 10 August 1792, during the French Revolution, revolutionary Fédéré militias — with the backing of a new municipal government of Paris that came to be known as the "insurrectionary" Paris Commune and ultimately supported by the National Guard — besieged the Tuileries palace. King Louis XVI and...
), Louvet became editor of the Journal des Débats
Journal des Débats
The Journal des débats was a French newspaper, published between 1789 and 1944 that changed title several times...
, and, both as a journalist and deputy in the National Convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
, made himself conspicuous by his attacks on Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. He largely dominated the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with his...
, Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat
Jean-Paul Marat , born in the Principality of Neuchâtel, was a physician, political theorist, and scientist best known for his career in France as a radical journalist and politician during the French Revolution...
and the other Montagnards
The Mountain
The Mountain refers in the context of the history of the French Revolution to a political group, whose members, called Montagnards, sat on the highest benches in the Assembly...
, whom he later claimed he would have succeeded in bringing to justice in after the September Massacres
September Massacres
The September Massacres were a wave of mob violence which overtook Paris in late summer 1792, during the French Revolution. By the time it had subsided, half the prison population of Paris had been executed: some 1,200 trapped prisoners, including many women and young boys...
were it not for the poor support he received from the Girondist leaders. It is more probable, however, that his gauche libel
Slander and libel
Defamation—also called calumny, vilification, traducement, slander , and libel —is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image...
contributed to the Girondist downfall (as well as his own): he had denounced Robespierre as "a Royalist", Marat as the main agent
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
of the British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
, and other Montagnards as crypto-Orléanist
Orléanist
The Orléanists were a French right-wing/center-right party which arose out of the French Revolution. It governed France 1830-1848 in the "July Monarchy" of king Louis Philippe. It is generally seen as a transitional period dominated by the bourgeoisie and the conservative Orleanist doctrine in...
s.
His courageous attitude at the king's trial, when he supported the appeal to the people
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
over the outright death penalty, added to hostility towards his party. Nonetheless, he defended the Girondists to the last moment, displaying an incriminating courage. After the crisis of 31 May 1793, when François Hanriot
François Hanriot
François Hanriot was a French leader and street orator of the Revolution. He played a vital role in the Insurrection and subsequently the fall of the Girondins.-Early years:...
and the sans-culottes stormed the Convention, he joined his defeated faction in their flight from Paris. His wife Lodoiska, who had actively cooperated in his campaigns, was also placed in danger by the developments.
Thermidor and directory
After the onset of the Thermidorian ReactionThermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction was a revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror. It was triggered by a vote of the Committee of Public Safety to execute Maximilien Robespierre, Antoine Louis Léon de Saint-Just de Richebourg and several other leading members of the Terror...
and the fall of Robespierre (27 July 1794), he was recalled to the Convention, when he was instrumental in bringing Jean-Baptiste Carrier
Jean-Baptiste Carrier
Jean-Baptiste Carrier was a French Revolutionary, known for his cruelty to his enemies, especially to clergy.-Biography:...
and the others responsible for the Noyades
Noyades
Noyades were drownings superintended during the Reign of Terror at Nantes, between November 1793 and January 1794, by the attorney Jean-Baptiste Carrier, the representative-on-mission....
of Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
to justice. His influence became considerable: he was elected a member of the Committee of the Constitution, president of the Assembly, and member of the Committee of Public Safety
Committee of Public Safety
The Committee of Public Safety , created in April 1793 by the National Convention and then restructured in July 1793, formed the de facto executive government in France during the Reign of Terror , a stage of the French Revolution...
, against the overgrown power of which he had in earlier days protested.
His conflict with the Montagnards had not made him reactionary: he attacked the Jeunesse dorée, and was regarded by many as a pillar of Jacobinism
Jacobin (politics)
A Jacobin , in the context of the French Revolution, was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary far-left political movement. The Jacobin Club was the most famous political club of the French Revolution. So called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue St. Jacques ,...
. La Sentinelle reappeared, under his auspices, preaching union among republicans. Under the Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
(1795) he was elected a member of the Council of Five Hundred
Council of Five Hundred
The Council of Five Hundred , or simply the Five Hundred was the lower house of the legislature of France during the period commonly known as the Directory , from 22 August 1795 until 9 November 1799, roughly the second half of the period generally referred to as the...
, of which he was secretary, and also a member of the Institut de France
Institut de France
The Institut de France is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is the Académie française.The institute, located in Paris, manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and chateaux open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which...
.
Meanwhile, he had returned to his trade and set up a bookseller's shop in the Palais Royal. But, in spite of the fact that he had once more denounced the Jacobins in La Sentinelle, he had come to be seen as a major enemy by the Jeunesse dorée. His shop was attacked by the young men with cries of À bas la Loupe, à bas la belle Ledoiska, à bas les gardes du corps de Louvet! ("Down with the She-Wolf, down with beautiful Ledoiska, down with Louvet's bodyguards!"); he and his wife were insulted in the streets and the theatres: À bas les Louvets et les Louvetants! ("Down with the Louvets and the Louvetants!" - a reference to his guards, based on the antiquated senses of the verb louveter), and he was compelled to leave Paris. The Directory appointed him to the consulship
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
at Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, in the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
, but he died before taking up his post.
Louvet's Memoirs
In 1795 Louvet published a portion of his Memoirs under the title of Quelques notices pour l'histoire et le récit de mes perils depuis le 31 mai 1793. They were mainly written in the various hiding-places in which Louvet took refuge, and they give a vivid picture of the sufferings of the exiled Girondists. They form a major document for the study of the psychology of the Revolution, as they give insight into the Louvet's own states of mind and political choices. The first complete edition of the Mémoires de Louvet de Couvrai, edited, with preface, notes and tables, by François Victor Alphonse AulardFrançois Victor Alphonse Aulard
François Victor Alphonse Aulard was the first professional French historian of the French Revolution and of Napoleon.He was born at Montbron in Charente...
, was published in Paris in 1889.