author
Paul Scarron
1610–1660
A sharp, playful voice in 17th-century French literature, this poet, dramatist, and novelist helped shape the burlesque style and left his biggest mark with The Comic Novel. His work brought theatrical energy, parody, and a lively eye for everyday life into French writing.
2 Audiobooks
Le Roman Comique
by Paul Scarron
Le prince corsaire
by Paul Scarron
About the author
Paul Scarron was a French writer born in Paris in 1610 and active as a poet, dramatist, and novelist. Reliable reference sources describe him as an important figure in the development of the drama, the burlesque epic, and the novel, and he is best known today for Le Roman comique (The Comic Novel) and for the hugely popular parody Virgile travesty.
After time spent in Le Mans and a trip to Rome, he settled in Paris and devoted himself to writing. Britannica notes that he became a notable presence in Parisian theatrical life in the years just before Molière arrived in the capital, and that his plays, though rarely performed now, mattered historically and influenced later comedy.
His life is also often remembered because he married Françoise d'Aubigné in 1652, long before she became Madame de Maintenon. Even so, Scarron stands on his own as a lively, inventive author whose humor and storytelling helped give French literature a more comic, theatrical, and human tone.