Charles Collé (1709–1783): au cœur de la République des Lettres ed. by Marie-Emmanuelle Plagnol-Diéval et Dominique Quéro (review)

The editors of this volume classify Charles Collé as a minor author, relegated to the ranks of the second ordre. So why devote such a substantial collection to him? They draw attention both to the importance of his Journal and to how the fact that he was at the centre of literary life means that he can add much to our understanding of the period. They also, quite rightly, point to the importance of his most famous play, La Partie de chasse de Henri IV. The nineteen articles in the collection are arranged in three sections. Henri Duranton opens ‘Chansons, musique et fêtes privées’ by looking at the satirical poems quoted by Collé in the Journal and his moral reflections on them; the late Pierre Enckell considers Collé’s obscene songs, concentrating on questions of attribution and bibliography; David Hennebelle considers the fact that, despite his involvement with opéra-comique, Collé seems to object to the composer being given more credit than the librettist (in general he appears to dislike both music and musicians); Benjamin Pintiaux examines two unsuccessful early works that, he argues, contributed to the Querelle des bouffons; and Janine Barrier looks at Collé’s presentation of the trompe l’œil commissioned by Louis-Philippe d’Orléans for the dancer Marquise. ‘L’Œuvre théâtrale’ begins with Dominique Quéro on the fate of Collé’s manuscripts, and Jennifer Ruimi comparing the manuscript of La Mère rivale with the parade’s published text, showing Collé’s claims that the publisher Corbie had added obscenities to be unjustified. Nathalie Rizzoni examines how Collé, who claimed he never borrowed anything, takes ideas from the early Fair repertoire; Jean-Noël Pascal examines two ‘tragedies’, the parodic Cocatrix and the more ambiguous Alphonse l’impuissant; Pierre Frantz points out that Dupuis et Desronais is not a drame, a genre that Collé hated. Three contributors look at La Partie de chasse, Jacques Berchtold examining links with Voltaire, Eric Francalanza comparing its reception with that of another play about Henri IV, by Durosoi, and Jacqueline Razgonnikoff examining its performance history, particularly the paradox of its being banned from the stage of the Théâtre français despite being performed freely elsewhere. Michel Grimberg closes the section by discussing how translations of plays by Collé fit into the tradition of adapting French comedy to the German stage. Finally, in ‘Amis et ennemis’, Jean Sgard looks at Collé’s long friendship with Crébillon fils; Logan Connors considers his refusal to side with the antiphilosophes, despite his antipathy for the work of the philosophes themselves; Charlotte Simonin examines his attitude to women writers in the Journal (he hardly ever mentions them, and seems to care little for them when he does); Catherine Franpois-Giappiconi looks at the paradox of the fact that Collé turned to sentimental comedy himself towards the end of his life, despite his hostility towards both Nivelle de La Chaussée and the genre he created; and Marie-Emmanuelle Plagnol-Diéval examines Collé’s response to Voltaire the dramatist. This collection covers a great deal of ground on both familiar and unfamiliar aspects of this interesting figure.