Louis de Rouvroy, Duc de Saint-Simon

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.04: French Writing and Culture: Eighteenth-Century and the Enlightenment, 1700-1800.
Vol. editors: Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Jenny Mander (University of Cambridge), Síofra Pierse (University College Dublin), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Dates

Born 16 Jan 1675
Died 2 Apr 1755
Activity 1695-1755

Places

Born in France
Active in France

Activities

Primary

Autobiographer

Other

Soldier

Resources

Saint-Simon's Works

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Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, is today remembered for his

Mémoires

which provide a fascinating portrait of the end of the reign of Louis XIV and of the Regency.

Born into the highest echelons of French aristocracy, Saint-Simon hoped for a military career in the Musketeers, but realising that this was not to be resigned from the famous regiment in 1702 and tried to achieve influence in the court at Versailles. Here again his successes fell short of his aspirations: pinning his hopes on his friend the Duke of Orleans, who became Regent in 1715, he became for a few years ambassador to Madrid, but the death of the Regent in 1724 put an end to his hopes and he retired from the court, dividing his time between his hotel in Paris, where his library amounted to some 6000 volumes, and his

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296 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Louis de Rouvroy, Duc de Saint-Simon". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 October 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3910, accessed 22 November 2024.]