FRANÇOIS-RENÉ DE CHATEAUBRIAND (1768–1848) was born in Saint-Malo, on the northern coast of Brittany, the youngest son of an aristocratic family. After an isolated adolescence, spent largely in his father’s castle, he moved to Paris not long before the Revolution began. In 1791, he sailed for America but quickly returned to Europe, where he enrolled in the counterrevolutionary army, was wounded, and emigrated to England. The novellas Atala and René, published shortly after his return to France in 1800, made him a literary celebrity. Long recognized as one of the first French Romantics, Chateaubriand was also a historian, a diplomat, and a staunch defender of the freedom of the press. Today, he is best remembered for his posthumously published Memoirs from Beyond the Grave.

ALEX ANDRIESSE is a writer and translator. He lives in the Netherlands.

ANKA MUHLSTEIN was awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1996 for her biography of Astolphe de Custine and has twice received the History Prize of the French Academy. Her books include Balzac’s Omelette, Monsieur Proust’s Library, and, most recently, The Pen and the Brush.