The epistolary novel Les Liaisons dangereuses reached readers on 23 March 1782, selling 1,000 copies in its first month and cementing the reputation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. Beyond his literary achievements, he navigated a complex career as a French army officer, an artillery expert, and a political operator during the turbulent years of the French Revolution.
Military Service and Engineering
Born in Amiens in 1741, Laclos entered the School of Artillery of La Fère in 1761. His early career involved various postings across France, including Strasbourg, Grenoble, and Besançon. In 1777, he established a new artillery school in Valence, an institution that would later count Napoleon Bonaparte among its students. While stationed at Île-d'Aix in 1779 to assist the marquis de Montalembert with coastal fortifications, he focused on both his professional duties and his private writing projects.
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Seeking to produce a work that would endure after his death, Laclos drafted his masterpiece while managing his military responsibilities. Before his success as a novelist, he attempted a career in the arts, including writing the libretto for an opéra comique titled Ernestine. The production premiered on 19 July 1777 in the presence of Queen Marie Antoinette but failed to find an audience. He remained an active participant in his era's intellectual life, contributing to the Almanach des Muses and joining the Académie des belles-lettres, sciences et arts de La Rochelle.
Revolutionary Politics and Reinstatement
Laclos departed the military in 1788 to serve the Duke of Orléans. During the French Revolution, he edited the Journal des amis de la constitution and served as a commissar in the Ministry of War, where his administrative reorganization contributed to the French victory at the Battle of Valmy in 1792. Following a period of political volatility that led to his arrest and subsequent release after the Thermidorian Reaction, he turned his attention to ballistics, inventing the modern artillery shell. In 1800, he rejoined the army under Napoleon Bonaparte, rising to the rank of brigadier general.
Final Years in Italy
In 1803, Laclos was appointed commander-in-chief of the Reserve Artillery in Italy. He died shortly thereafter, on 5 September 1803, in the former convent of St. Francis of Assisi at Taranto, likely due to a combination of dysentery and malaria. He was interred in a fort he had directed the construction of on the Isola di San Paolo. When the House of Bourbon was restored in 1815, his tomb was destroyed, and historical accounts suggest his remains were moved to the sea.
Fast facts
- Born: 18 October 1741, Amiens
- Died: 5 September 1803, Taranto
- Military Rank: General
- Spouse: Marie-Soulange Duperré
- Notable Work: Les Liaisons dangereuses
- Membership: Académie des belles-lettres, sciences et arts de La Rochelle
- Burial Site: San Paolo Island
Questions readers ask
Did Laclos write more than one novel?
He is primarily known for his epistolary novel Les Liaisons dangereuses, though he also produced poetry, an opéra comique libretto, and several works of non-fiction.
What caused the destruction of his tomb?
Following the restoration of the House of Bourbon in southern Italy in 1815, his burial site was destroyed.
