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Népomucène Lemercier
French author
Népomucène Lemercier (born April 21, 1771, Paris, France—died June 7, 1840, Paris) was a poet and dramatist, a late proponent of classical tragedy over Romanticism, and the originator of French historical comedy. An accident caused Lemercier lifelong partial paralysis. He made a precocious literary debut, attempting a comedy at age 9 and having his first tragedy, Méléagre, produced at the Comédie-Française before he was 16. His Tartuffe révolutionnaire (1795) created a succès de scandale and was quickly suppressed because of its bold political allusions. The orthodox tragedy Agamemnon (1794) was probably Lemercier’s most celebrated play. Pinto (1800), a historical comedy ...(100 of 251 words)