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The Young Romantics: Victor Hugo, Sainte Beuve, Vigny, Dumas, Musset and George Sand and Their Friendships, Feuds and Loves in the French Romantic Revolution

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This book is a Who's Who of literary figures that introduced the spirit of romanticism to French theater and books in the early 19th century. The French theater was bound by the ancient rules defining classical plays and poetry. A ring of playwrights and poets led by Victor Hugo, but including Sainte-Beuve, Alexander Dumas and others, sensed that Romanticism would be well received if it could be freed from the laws of Classicism. These avant-garde artists has a army of supporters that would attend their plays to demonstrate that the public would welcome Romanticism. Very well written and enjoyable to read. This book connects names that are commonly known with accomplishments and acts that now obscure because their fame came later in their careers. The author skillfully tracks multiple careers and fates, but keeps the spirit of the book intact. The individual artist's careers, along with their interactions with each other and the leading ladies of the theaters reads like a modern Hollywood gossip column. This was also the time of the Paris revolution, where Alexander Dumas would write his plays one day and man the barricades the next. All in All, a very good book about a subject not too well known, and it gives a good amount of detail about each of the major players.