François-René de Chateaubriand

François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who influenced <a href="/facts/French_literature/L1fo6JPq">French literature</a> of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocratic family from <a href="/facts/Brittany/XvquwmIg">Brittany</a>, Chateaubriand was a <a href="/facts/Royalist/Vp5YnVUs">royalist</a> by political disposition. In an age when large numbers of intellectuals turned against the Church, he authored the <a href="/facts/The_Genius_of_Christianity/JXaRRSaP">Génie du christianisme</a> in defense of the <a href="/facts/Catholic_faith/rJ4F4gqH">Catholic faith</a>. His works include the autobiography <a href="/facts/M%25C3%25A9moires_d%2527Outre-Tombe/mT1ybNHn">Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe</a> (Memoirs from Beyond the Grave), published posthumously in 1849–1850.
Historian <a href="/facts/Peter_Gay/V9czn0tn">Peter Gay</a> said that Chateaubriand saw himself as the greatest lover, the greatest writer, and the greatest philosopher of his age. Gay states that Chateaubriand "dominated the literary scene in France in the first half of the nineteenth century".

François-René de Chateaubriand open-in-new

François-René de Chateaubriand