Confession of a Child of the Century : A Classic Romantic French Tragedy

The Confession of a Child of The Century (1836) by Alfred de Musset is the story of Octave, a young man of means, "taken with the malady of the age" -- a profound disillusionment with the world and humanity -- after his mistress betrays his trust. Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (1810-1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist. After attempts at careers in medicine, law, drawing, English and piano, he became one of the first Romantic writers. He was the librarian of the French Ministry of the Interior under the July Monarchy. The tale of his celebrated love affair with George Sand, which lasted from 1833 to 1835, is told from his point of view in his autobiographical novel, La Confession d'un Enfant du Siècle (The Confession of a Child of the Century) made into a film, Children of the Century. He received the Légion d'honneur in 1845, at the same time as Balzac, and was elected to the Académie française (French Academy) in 1852.