Dictionary.net

A celebrated French essayist and litterateur; born at Paris, Sept. 28, 1803; died at Cannes, Sept. 23, 1870. He studied law, but never practiced; was senator in 1853. His best-known works were the two novels "Colomba" (1830), treating of the Corsican vendetta; and "Carmen" (1840), which furnished the plot of Bizet's opera of the same name. He wrote besides: "Plays of Clara Gazul" (1825); "Historic Monuments" (1843); "Historic and Literary Medleys" (1855), a collection of comedies in the style of the Spanish "intermezzo"; "Guzla" (1827), a collection of Illyrian lyrics; "Mateo Falcone", a novel; "Letters to an Unknown" ("Letters to an Unknown": 1873); etc.