François-René, Vicomte de Chateaubriand, Atala

Jennifer Yee (University of Oxford)

Ed. by Jennifer Yee, University of Oxford
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.05: French Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth-Century , 1800-1900.
Vol. editors: David Elwyn Evans (University of St Andrews), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Elisabeth Gerwin (University of Lethbridge), Nigel Harkness (University of Newcastle upon Tyne), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield), Jennifer Yee (University of Oxford)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1801

Places

France (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Story

Resources

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A short tale of thwarted love and passion set in the American wilderness, Chateaubriand’s

Atala

was

first published in 1801. It is now most often read alongside its companion tale

René

(1802), and Chateaubriand published them together in 1805. Both tales, however, can also be situated within two very different longer works. In 1802 Chateaubriand integrated them within his influential apologia,

Le Génie du christianisme

[

The Genius of Christianity

]. Less obviously, both

René

and

Atala

were first conceived as part of an epic called

The Natchez

that recounts the defeat of a Native American tribe. An admirable re-edition of

The Natchez

(by Jean-Claude Berchet, 1989) makes it possible for readers to situate the two tales in their original context, which is invaluable since the main…

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1817 words

Citation: Yee, Jennifer. "Atala". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 February 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11157, accessed 20 April 2024.]

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