French Literature Reviews - 2026
Amélie Calderone, Des spectacles dans un fauteuil. Lire le théâtre romantique dans la presse
Theatre and Performance
The "armchair spectacle" (spectacle dans un fauteuil) does not belong to Musset alone. Between 1829 and 1851, amid profound transformations in both the media landscape and the dramatic world, the press became a vital avenue for playwrights to reach audiences alongside—or in the absence of—the traditional stage. Whether serialized plays printed in full, standalone excerpts, short sketches, or dialogued articles, an entire facet of romantic dramatic writing was inherently "media-driven," which Amélie Calderone's work invites us to rediscover.
Examining nearly 120 periodical titles, her study reshapes our perception of actors and the interpretation of texts, ranging from canonical works by Sand, Vigny, and Musset to lesser-known authors, and from traditional genres to long-neglected dramatic forms (melodrama, féerie, the dramatic proverb, etc.). Bridging the history of the book, literature, and reading practices, as well as cultural and political history, this study serves as a starting point for a more accurate understanding of the literary phenomenon of Romanticism.
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A CNRS researcher and member of the UMR Ihrim (Institute for the History of Representations and Ideas in Modernity), Amélie Calderone specializes in nineteenth-century theatre and the works of George Sand.
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Table of Contents
Editorial Note
Common Abbreviations
Introduction. The Press: A Vast Cabinet of Dramatic Curiosities
Part I. Theatre and the Press: A Dramatic Panorama of a Protean Medium
Chapter 1. Theatre Published in the Press
1829–1836: The Era of Reviews
After 1836. Dailies: Theatre in Multiple Publications
From Work to Reader: The Multiplication of Mediators
Chapter 2. The Currency of Plays: Playwrights
Making a Living from the Stage
Making a Living from Publishing
Making a Living from the Press
Chapter 3. Authors' Practices
Neither Book nor Stage: A Public Sphere to Conquer
The Press: Publications Unbound?
Promotional and Commercial Strategies
Scenographed Playwrights' Voices
Chapter 4. Publishers' Interests
A "Serial Theatre"?
From Contiguous to Continuous: Theatre within the Journal's Vocal Mosaic
Chapter 5. Readers' Uses
Period Perception: Theatre Seen Versus Theatre Read
The Pleasure of Reading: Theatre in Private
The Pleasure of Performing: Private Theatricals
(Re)living Parisian Performances: Disseminated Spectacles
Part II. Theatrical Writing and the Press: Elective Affinities
Chapter 6. Journalistic Theatricality
The Press as a Vocal Object: From Address to Exchange
The Periodical: A Theatricalized Space
The "Stage," or the Rise of the Theatrical Paradigm in the Press
Chapter 7. Press and Theatre: Stylistic Connivances
Prelude: Theatre for the Press, a Media-Driven Writing Style
The Dynamism of Brevity
Scenographed Voices: The Fabrication of the "French Spirit"
Conversing, Chatting
Chapter 8. Press and Theatre: Founding a Modern Society
Anatomies of the Social: From Audience Member to Press Observer
Democratic Paradigms: Theatrical Writing and Civic Formation
The Temptation of the Pulpit-Theatre
Part III. Through the Lens of the Press: A Media-Driven (Re)reading of Romantic Theatre
Chapter 9. The Dramatic Proverb: Testing Romantic Comedy
Writing the Comedy of the Century
The Proverb: An Anti-Dramatic Form?
From Proverb to Comedy: The Mediatization of a Private Entertainment
Chapter 10. The Collective and Media Invention of Romantic Comedy in the Revue des deux mondes
Early Daring: Mérimée in the Revue de Paris
Musset and the Whimsical Use of Publishing Outlets
The Proverb in the Revue des deux mondes: Renewing a Mediatized Form
The Proverb: Mirror of the "Journalist-Playwrights"?
Chapter 11. The Metaphysical Drama: Another Romantic Drama in Reviews
Symbolist Drama as an Editorial Phenomenon in Reviews
Ahasvérus, an Esoteric Drama in the Revue des deux mondes
Les Sept Cordes de la lyre, an Allegoric Drama in the Revue des deux mondes
Gabriel, a Metaphysical Drama for the "Grocers"?
Chapter 12. On Certain Liberated Theatres: Faces of Dramatic Fantasy in the Press
Octave Feuillet: Fantasy Without Caprice
Édouard Ourliac: From the Minor Press Fantasy to Youth Theatre
Chapter 13. Romantic Revival, Between Scenic Splendor and Media Event
From Scenic Event to Media Event
From Media Event to Mediatized Failure
Conclusion. Life and Adventures of a Media-Driven Theatre
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index Nominum
Index of Principal Periodicals Cited
Index of Works
Amélie Calderone's study explores the complex relationship between nineteenth-century French Romantic drama and periodical culture, focusing on how plays reached audiences through newspapers and reviews. By examining nearly one hundred and twenty periodical titles published between 1829 and 1851, the author demonstrates how the press functioned as an alternative stage for playwrights like George Sand, Alfred de Vigny, and Alfred de Musset. The work highlights forgotten formats such as the dramatic proverb, melodrama, and the féerie, shedding light on how these media-driven texts reshaped contemporary reading and performance practices.
This book bridges literary history, the sociology of the media, and print culture studies, making it an essential resource for scholars of nineteenth-century literature and theatre history. It addresses core questions regarding authorship, literary economics, and the ways public reading publics engaged with dramatic works in private settings. Researchers, graduate students, and literary historians interested in French Romanticism, journalism history, and the intersection of print and performance will find this comprehensive volume particularly valuable for rethinking canonical and peripheral theatrical traditions.