Benjamin Constant

Benjamin Constant

Benjamin Constant (Henri Benjamin Constant de Rebecque) , 1767-1830, French-Swiss political writer and novelist, b. Lausanne. His affair (1794-1811) with Germaine de Staël turned him to political interests. He accompanied her to Paris in 1795 and served (1799-1801) as a tribune under the first consul, Napoleon. When Mme de Stäel was expelled (1802), however, he went into exile with her, spending the following 12 years in Switzerland and Germany. In 1813 he published a pamphlet attacking Napoleon and urging constitutional government and civil liberties. On Napoleon's return from Elba, however, Constant accepted office under him. After Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo and the restoration of the Bourbons, Constant continued his political pamphleteering, calling for a constitutional monarchy. He served (1819-22, 1824-30) in the chamber of deputies. Constant gained a great reputation as a liberal publicist, and his funeral (shortly after the July Revolution, 1830, which he had supported) was the occasion for great demonstrations. His most important work, the introspective and semiautobiographical novel, Adolphe (1816, tr. 1959), is highly regarded for its style. Parts of his correspondence and journals have been published, the latter as Le Journal intime (1887-89) and Le Cahier rouge [the red notebook] (1907). The discovery of an unfinished novel, Cécile (1951; tr. 1953), has contributed to a new appreciation of Constant's literary merit.

Bibliography: See studies by H. Nicolson (1949), W. W. Holdheim (1961), and D. Wood (1987).

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Constant (de Rebecque), (Henri) Benjamin

Constant (de Rebecque), (Henri) Benjamin (1761–1830) French political writer, b. Switzerland. A member of Napoleon's tribunate (1799–1802), he went into exile in 1803. After the Bourbon restoration he was leader of the liberal opposition (1819–22, 1824–30). His chief work was the psychological novel Adolphe (1816), a fictionalized account of his relationship with Madame de Staël.

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"Constant (de Rebecque), (Henri) Benjamin." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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"Constant (de Rebecque), (Henri) Benjamin." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-ConstantdeRebecquHnrBnjmn.html

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Henri Benjamin Constant de Rebecque

Henri Benjamin Constant de Rebecque see Constant, Benjamin .

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"Henri Benjamin Constant de Rebecque." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-Constant-de.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

The Humane Comedy: Constant, Tocqueville and French Liberalism.
Magazine article from: Canadian Journal of History; 8/1/1993
TRAGIC BABY BEN'S PARENTS IN NEW START; Tired doctor admits error.
Newspaper article from: Birmingham Evening Mail (England); 3/9/1999
TRAGIC BABY BEN'S PARENTS IN NEW START Tired doctor admits error
Newspaper article from: Birmingham Evening Mail (England); 3/9/1999

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