Educated at a Lyons school and at Belley, Lamartine was an avid reader which stimulated his literary talents. He traveled to Italy in 1811 and spent two years there. He returned to France and joined the Garde du Corps, but fled to Switzerland during the Hundred Days. He again returned to France after Waterloo and in 1820 published his first book of verse, Meditations, Poetiques et Religieuses, which was very successful. He was appointed secretary to the embassy at Naples and in 1823 published his second work Nouvelles Meditations Poetiques, From 1824 to 1829 he was based in Florence and was awarded the order of the Legion of Honor by Charles X. He was elected to the French Academy in 1829. He traveled throughout the Middle East and later published Voyage en Orient describing his experiences. He became a member of the provisional government in 1848, but failed to win election to the Legislative Assembly in 1849. For the remainder of his life he concentrated on his writing. In addition to his many volumes of poetry, Lamartine produced a number of historical works and novels. In his later years, Lamartine was constantly in financial straits, but in 1867 the government provided him with a grant of 25,000 Francs. His works include Saul (1818), Jocelyn (1836), Histoire des Girondins (1847), Raphael (1849), Confidences (1849), Graziella (1852), Les Visions (1853), Histoire la Turquie (1854) and Cours Familier de Litterature (1856). |
Chrysoma Associates Limited
