FONTANES, LOUIS de. – French man of letters and statesman, born in Niort on 6 March 1757, died in Paris on 17 March 1821.
He was a member of the Institute and a professor at the Central School. During his exile in London at the time of the Revolution, he met Chateaubriand and became his friend. Protected by Napoleon, he rose under him to the highest offices. He left many writings in political and philosophical journals, but proved to be a writer and poet of mediocre merit. He contributed to the success of the Génie du christianisme and to the reorganization of the school.
BIBL.: C. A. Sainte-Beuve, Portraits littéraires, II, Paris 1844, pp. 207–305; A. Tormey, F. Étude biographique et historique. Poitiers 1901; A. Wilson, F. (1757-1821), Paris 1928; M. E. Gilbert, Das Gespräch in F.s Gesellschaftsromanen, Lippia 1930. Elena Boscicco