Claude Godard d'Aucour

Born in Langres on December 16, 1716, and later dying in Paris on July 1, 1795, he was a French writer, dramatist, and librettist. Sources also identify him as the marquis de Plancy, and note that alongside his literary life he held important financial offices under the French monarchy.

His surviving reputation rests largely on works with a libertine flavor, including Thémidore ou Mon histoire et celle de ma maîtresse and Les Mémoires turcs. That mix of playful storytelling, social polish, and theatrical writing helps explain why he still stands out among lesser-known 18th-century French authors.

Bibliographic records from the Bibliothèque nationale de France and reference sources also connect him to opera and stage writing, showing a career that reached beyond novels alone. He did not leave behind the kind of broad modern fame enjoyed by some of his contemporaries, but he remains an interesting figure for readers drawn to the lighter, more provocative side of French Enlightenment literature.