author
Auguste Coeuret
Best known for a concise history of the Bastille, this little-known French writer is remembered more through his subject than through surviving details of his life. His work offers a compact window into how 19th-century readers looked back on one of the French Revolution’s most famous symbols.
1 Audiobook
La Bastille (1370-1789) Histoire, Description, Attaque et Prise
by Auguste Coeuret
About the author
Auguste Coeuret was a French author associated with the 19th century, but very little firmly documented biographical information appears to survive. Library records from the Bibliothèque nationale de France identify him only in broad terms, which suggests he remains a relatively obscure figure today.
He is best known for La Bastille (1370-1789): histoire, description, attaque et prise, a historical work published in Paris by J. Rothschild. The book traces the history of the Bastille and reflects a strong interest in French political memory, especially the meaning of the prison-fortress before and during the Revolution.
For modern readers, Coeuret is interesting less as a famous literary personality than as a guide to a subject that has never lost its pull. His surviving reputation rests on this focused historical writing, which helps preserve his name even though the details of his personal life are still hard to pin down.