French Literature Reviews - 2026
André de Rivaudeau, Aman: A Sacred Tragedy, Drawn from the Seventh Chapter of Esther, Book of the Holy Bible (Edited by Nicolas Le Cadet)
Theatre and Performance
André de Rivaudeau
Aman: A Sacred Tragedy, Drawn from the Seventh Chapter of Esther, Book of the Holy Bible
Edition by Nicolas Le Cadet
Paris, Classiques Garnier, coll. "Library of French Theatre", 2023
The first French tragedy based on the story of Esther, Mordecai, and the cruel eponymous vizier, and also the first French tragedy to combine a biblical narrative with the tragic form inherited from Antiquity, Aman (1566) is presented here in a completely new edition.
Authored in the sixteenth century during a period of intense religious and artistic transformation, Aman occupies a pioneering place in the history of French drama. By fusing biblical narrative material with classical tragic structures inherited from antiquity, the work bridges sacred history and Renaissance theatrical innovation. This critical edition by Nicolas Le Cadet makes the text newly accessible within the Library of French Theatre collection, offering scholars and enthusiasts an opportunity to explore the origins of biblical tragedy in France.
This volume will prove especially valuable for researchers, students, and theatre historians focusing on early modern literature, Renaissance dramaturgy, and the reception of biblical themes in European letters. The play illuminates how sixteenth-century writers adapted scripture to address contemporary moral and political questions through the conventions of tragedy. Readers interested in the evolution of French dramatic verse and the genealogy of classical theatre will find this scholarly edition an essential resource for contextualizing Rivaudeau's contribution to the genre.