François Guillaume Ducray-Duminil facts for kids
François Guillaume Ducray-Duminil (born in Paris in 1761, died in Ville-d'Avray on October 29, 1819) was a French writer. He wrote novels, poems, and songs. He is best known for his popular books for children and young adults.
Contents
About His Writing Career
Ducray-Duminil started working in Paris in 1790. He was a literary editor for a newspaper called Les Petites Affiches. He was known for being fair in his reviews. He was also part of several writing groups, like the Société du Caveau. He wrote many poems and song lyrics. He also wrote a few plays, but they were never performed.
He became very famous for writing books for children and young people. He cared a lot about the messages in his stories. He made sure that good behavior and innocence always won in the end. His plots often had clever twists and turns.
Even though his books were popular, some critics made fun of his writing style. For example, Victor Hugo called his works "stupid romances" in his famous novel Les Misérables. However, Ducray-Duminil wanted his writing to be clear and easy to understand. This was very important for his young readers. He had a great imagination and was a talented storyteller. This is why his books stayed popular for a long time. Many other writers even used ideas from his stories for their own plays.
He passed away in Ville-d'Avray.
His Books and Other Works
Many of Ducray-Duminil's novels were printed again and again because they were so popular. Here are some of his well-known books:
- Lolotte et Fanfan, ou Histoire de deux enfants abandonnés dans une île déserte (Lolotte and Fanfan, or The Story of Two Children Abandoned on a Desert Island) (1788)
- Alexis, ou la Maisonnette dans les bois (Alexis or the Small House in the Woods) (1789)
- Petit Jacques et Georgette, ou les Petits montagnards auvergnats (The Little Mountaineers of Auvergne, Or, The Adventures of James and Georgette) (1791)
- Victor, ou l’Enfant de la forêt (Victor, a Child of the Forest) (1797) – You can find this book online at Gutenberg.org.
- Cœlina, ou l'Enfant du mystère (Celina, or the Mystery Child) (1798) – This was one of his most popular books.
- les Cinquante Francs de Jeannette (Jeanette's Fifty Francs) (1798/9)
- les Petits orphelins du hameau (The Young Orphans from the Hamlet) (1800)
- Paul, ou la Ferme abandonnée (Paul or the Abandoned Farmstead) (1800)
- Elmonde, ou la Fille de l’hospice (Edmonde, the Charity Girl) (1804)
- Jules, ou le Toit paternel (Jules, or Under His Father's Roof) (1804)
- le Petit Carillonneur (The Small Bellringer) (1809)
- Jean et Jeannette, ou les Petits aventuriers parisiens (Jean and Jeanette, Two Young Adventurers in Paris) (1816)
He also wrote other types of works, such as:
- Codicille sentimental, ou recueil de discours, contes, anecdotes, idylles, romances et poésies fugitives (1793)
- Soirées de la chaumière (Evenings at the Cottage) (1794) – This book was also printed many times.
- les Veillées de ma grand’mère, nouveaux contes de fées (My Grandmother's Evenings, New Fairy Tales) (1799)
- Journées au village, ou Tableau d'une bonne famille (Days in the Village, or Picture of a Good Family) (1804)
- le Bon oncle et les neveux, annuaire moral (The Good Uncle and the Nephews, Moral Yearbook) (1812)
- Contes de Fées (Fairy Tales) (1817)
Where to Find His Works Online
Some of Ducray-Duminil's books are available to read online at Gallica, which is part of the Bibliothèque nationale de France (National Library of France):
- Alexis, ou La maisonnette dans les bois
- Coelina, ou L’enfant du mystère
- Elmonde, ou La fille de l'hospice
- Les Cinquante francs de Jeannette
- Les Soirées de la chaumière
- Les Veillées de ma grand-mère
- Victor, ou L’enfant de la forêt
Learn More
- Michel Manson, Les Livres pour l'enfance et la jeunesse sous la Révolution, Paris, INRP, 1989, pp. 85–89
- Gustave Vapereau, Dictionnaire universel des littératures, Paris, Hachette, 1876, p. 666
