No figure in the history of France more embodies the freedom to think and to blame. Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732-1799), the author of the famous Marriage of Figaro , had to fight for three years against the royal censorship before being able to have his play performed in public and to win a triumph in 1784.
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It was undoubtedly as early as 1776 that the writer began to compose his masterpiece. Beaumarchais was then 44 years old. With an indomitable energy, an exceptional vitality, he is already a character of Balzac. Speculator and partner of a financier linked to the Court, harp professor of the daughters of Louis XV, secret agent of the sovereign, lawyer and arms suppliers to the American insurgents, instigator of copyright, the former watchmaker expresses a desire passionate about social advancement and a taste for advertising without limits.
A notoriety tinged with scandal
The incessant money lawsuits in which he finds himself involved and a few stays in prison earned him a notoriety tinged with scandal. The polemicist takes to
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