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biography
| name: |
Mercier, Louis-Sébastien
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pronunciation:
[mairsyay]
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1740–1814)
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| biography:
| Writer, born in Paris, France. His Essai sur l'Art Dramatique (1773) expressed his desire for political representation of the people. He wrote a work of prophetic imagination, L'An 2440, a pre-warning of the Revolution, which had 41 official editions from 1771–91. Fragments politiques et d'histoire (1792) stressed the importance of agriculture and the dangers of over-population. His many plays include La Brouette du vinaigrier (1775) and Le Déserteur (1770, performed 1782) which earned him a pension from the queen. A rich source of information on social history, his most important works remaining are Tableaux de Paris (12 vols, 1781–90) and Les Nouveaux Tableaux (1799–1800). A member of the Institut in 1795, he had a seat in the Convention and in the Conseil des Cinq-Cents. |
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