Author: Racine, Jean
Biography:
RACINE, Jean (1639-99: EB)
A prominent and influential French tragedian, he was baptised on 22 Dec. 1639 at La Ferté-Milon, north of Paris. His parents were Jean Racine, a local official, and his wife Jeanne Sconin. Racine and his younger sister, Marie, were orphaned at an early age and Racine was brought up by his paternal grandparents. He was educated at schools in Port-Royal and at Beauvais, and he came under the influence of the Jansenists. In 1658 he went to Paris where he became increasingly involved with theatrical circles and began writing plays, many of which have classical themes. His La Thébaïde was the first of his plays to be produced, in 1664. It was followed by other tragedies including Andromaque (1667), Britannicus (1669), Bérénice (1670), Esther (1689), and Athalie (1691). His most famous work, Phèdre, dates from 1677. He married Catherine de Romanet in 1677; they had two sons and five daughters. Racine rose to prominence in the royal court where, among other posts, he served as the royal historiographer. He was elected to the French Academy in 1672. Racine died in 1699 of liver cancer and was buried according to his wishes at Port-Royal; his remains were later moved to Paris. Of the translators of Racine’s works that are listed in this database, Brooke Boothby (q.v.) was also a poet in his own right. John Sheppard and J. C. Knight, both translators of Athalie, have not been identified with any certainty but Sheppard probably lived in Edinburgh. Charles Randolph was the son of the Rev. James Randolph and his wife Mary Witherell; he was born on 20 Oct. 1794 at Milverton, Somerset, and baptised on 20 July 1795. He was educated at Blundell’s school in Tiverton, Devon, and at Clare College, Cambridge (matric. 20 June 1812, BA 1816, MA 1828). Randolph was ordained deacon in 1818 and priest in 1819. He was the vicar in Lyme Regis, Somerset, from 1826 to 1832. On 19 May 1830 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, he married Mary Anne Foyle; they had at least two sons and two daughters. In 1832 Randolph became the rector at Kimpton, Hampshire, and he held that post until his death in 1871. He was buried on 5 Aug. 1871 in the churchyard of his church. (EB; Geoffrey Brereton, Jean Racine: A Critical Biography [2022]; ancestry.co.uk 11 Dec. 2024; ACAD; CCEd 11 Dec. 2024) SR
Other Names:
- Racine