Prosper Mérimée

Prosper Mérimée (September 28, 1803–September 23, 1870) was a French dramatist, historian, archaeologist, and short story writer. One of his stories was the basis of the opera Carmen.

Works

• Cromwell (1822) - his first play.
• Le Théâtre de Clara Gazul (1825) - a hoax, supposedly a translation by one Joseph L'Estrange of work written by a Spanish actress.
• La Guzla (1827) - another hoax, ballads about various mystical themes proportedly translated from the original Illyrian by one Hyacinthe Maglanowich.
• La Jacquerie (1828) - dramatic scenes about a peasant insurrection in feudal times.
• La Chronique du temps de Charles IX (1829) - a novel about French court life.
• Mateo Falcone (1829) - a short story about a Corsican man who must kill his son in the name of justice
• Mosaïque (1833) - a collection of short stories.
• Notes de voyages (1835-40) - describing his travels through Greece, Spain, Turkey, and France.
• Colomba (1840) - his first famous novella, about a young Corsican girl who forces her brother to commit murder for the sake of a vendetta.
• Carmen (1846) - another famous novella describing an unfaithful gypsy girl who is killed by the soldier who loves her (made into an opera by Georges Bizet in 1875).
• Lokis (1869) - exploring supernatural themes.
• La Chambre bleue (1872) - also with a supernatural bent.
• Lettres à une inconnue (1874) - a collection of letters from Mérimée to Jenny Dacquin, published after his death.