Auguste Maquet

Auguste Maquet (French: [oɡyst makɛ]; 13 September 1813, in Paris – 8 January 1888) was a French author, best known as the chief collaborator of French novelist Alexandre Dumas, père, co-writing such works as The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.[1]

Not to be confused with August Macke.

Auguste Maquet
Auguste Maquet
Born(1813-09-13)13 September 1813
Paris, France
Died8 January 1888(1888-01-08) (aged 74)
Burial placePère Lachaise Cemetery, Paris
Occupationnovelist
French literature
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Biography

Maquet was born in Paris in 1813. He studied at the Lycée Charlemagne where he became a professor at the age of 18. Trained as a historian, he turned to literature, and became close with such literary figures as Théophile Gautier and Gérard de Nerval. Through Nerval, he became acquainted with the already famous Dumas in 1838. Gérard de Nerval introduced Maquet to Dumas and asked the famous author to rewrite a play of Maquet's and publish it under his own name.[2] Dumas was then given a manuscript by Maquet which Dumas went on to publish under his own name as Le Chevalier d'Harmental.[3]

The two started writing historical romances together, with Maquet outlining the plot and characters in draft form and Dumas adding colorful dialogue and details.[2] At the insistence of the publisher, Maquet's name was left off the title page, and in return he received generous fees.[2]

The collaboration with Dumas ended in 1851. (Maquet had earlier sued Dumas demanding co-authorship and royalties, but the court found in favor of Dumas, on the grounds that "Dumas without Maquet would have been Dumas: what would Maquet have been without Dumas?"[4]) Maquet went on to produce a large solo body of work in terms of historical romances, plays and an opera. In 1861, he became an officer of the Légion d'honneur. Maquet died comfortably well-off. He is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

His brothers Charles and Hector Maquet were the founders of the luxury stationery manufacturer Maison Maquet.

Works

With Dumas

Maquet collaborated with Dumas on eighteen novels, and many plays. Among the works he co-authored with Dumas are:

Novels by Maquet
  • De La Fontaine comparé comme fabuliste à Ésope et à Phèdre, 1832
  • Le Beau d'Angennes, 1843
  • Deux Trahisons, 1844
  • Histoire de la Bastille, 1844
  • Le Comte de Lavernie, 1852
  • La Chute de Satan, 1854
  • La Belle Gabrielle, 1854-1855
  • Dettes de cœur, 1857
  • La Maison du baigneur, 1857
  • La Rose blanche, 1858
  • L'Envers et l'Endroit, épisode de la fin du règne de Louis XIV, 1858
  • Les Vertes Feuilles, 1862
  • Paris sous Louis XIV. Monuments et vues, 1883

Plays by Maquet
Tomb of Auguste Maquet at Père Lachaise.
  • Le Château de Grantier, 1852
  • Le Comte de Lavernie, 1854
  • La Belle Gabrielle, 1857
  • Dettes de cœur, 1859
  • La Maison du baigneur, 1864
  • Le Hussard de Bercheny, 1865
  • Valéria, 1851 (with Jules Lacroix)
  • La Fronde, 1853 (with Jules Lacroix and music by Louis Niedermeyer)
  • La Chambre rouge, 1852 (with Théodore Anne)
  • L'Enfant du régiment, 1854 (with Théodore Anne)

Legacy

Many devotees of Dumas claim that "Maquet was merely a dogsbody whose capacity for hard work was his greatest talent."[3] Others, such as French Dumas expert Claude Schopp have claimed that Maquet was the real "fourth musketeer,"[2] responsible for the plots of The d'Artagnan Romances.[2] Author Bernard Fillaire says "There is a tendency to dismiss [Maquet] as a drudge and that's just wrong...Of course he wasn't a Balzac or a Dickens...but he definitely had talent."[3]

Maquet was portrayed by Belgian actor Benoît Poelvoorde in L'Autre Dumas (The Other Dumas)[3]

See also

References
  1. "Ghostwriter von Alexandre Dumas - Business And Science" (in German). Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  2. Samuel, Henry (10 February 2010). "Alexandre Dumas novels penned by 'fourth musketeer' ghost writer". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  3. Davies, Lizzy (9 February 2010). "Film reignites literary debate over Alexandre Dumas's ghostwriter". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  4. Halford, Macy (22 August 2010). "Genius Factories Past and Present". The New Yorker. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  • Schopp, Claude (1988). Alexandre Dumas, Genius of Life. trans. by A. J. Koch. New York, Toronto: Franklin Watts. ISBN 0-531-15093-3.
  • Reed, F.W. (Frank Wild) (1933). A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas père. Pinner Hill, Middlesex: J.A. Neuhuys. OCLC 1420223.
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