author
Néricault Destouches
1680–1754
Best known for the comedy Le Glorieux, this 18th-century French dramatist mixed sharp social observation with a strong moral streak. His plays helped carry French classical comedy into a new era, drawing in part on ideas from English Restoration theatre.
1 Audiobook
Next Door Neighbours: A Comedy; In Three Acts
by Mrs. Inchbald, Néricault Destouches, Louis-Sébastien Mercier
About the author
Born in Tours on April 9, 1680, Philippe Néricault Destouches became one of the notable comic playwrights of 18th-century France. After studying in Tours and Paris, he entered diplomatic service while still young, and that experience fed into a theatrical career that eventually produced 22 plays.
Destouches is remembered for comedies that focus on character, manners, and social ambition. Reference works describe him as a writer who brought influences from English Restoration theatre into the French classical comic tradition, and Le Glorieux is often singled out as his best-known work.
He was elected to the Académie française in 1723, a sign of the esteem he earned in literary life. Destouches died on July 4, 1754.