Charles Pinot Duclos

Charles Pinot Duclos (born in Dinan, 1704; died in Paris, 1772) was a French novelist, historian and contributor to the Encyclopédie of the eighteenth century. He wrote in French during the Enlightenment, though he kept a more independent position than that label suggests. Today he is remembered mainly for his historical works and for his memoirs of the court.

He studied law in Paris and at first worked in the office of a lawyer, but soon turned to literature. In the capital he frequented literary cafés and salons and joined a club of young writers who published their pieces under playful titles. From that circle came Acajou et Zirphile, a tale written as a wager among the members. The patronage of Madame de Pompadour helped him gain a seat in the Académie française, where he eventually became perpetual secretary.

His first serious publication was the Histoire de Louis XI, dry and epigrammatic in style yet showing real research. His reputation was confirmed by the Considérations sur les mœurs de ce siècle (1751), an essay on the manners of his age that was translated into English and German. His Mémoires secrets on the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV did not appear until after the Revolution. Duclos had a tense relationship with Voltaire and other Encyclopédistes, owing to his domineering temper and sharp tongue, though they also valued him. After Voltaire left for Prussia, he was named historiographer of France.

In 1763, after voicing opinions on a political quarrel in Brittany, he was advised to leave France for a time, and he travelled to England and then Italy. His legacy is that of a writer who combined historical scholarship with a critical view of his society, and whose memoirs helped shape later images of the French court.