Charles Théveneau de Morande

Charles Théveneau , known as of Morande or knight of Morande , is a lampoonist, spy and Journaliste Polémique French born the November 9th 1741 with Arnay-the-Duke (Burgundy) and died in Arnay-the-Duke in 1805.

Turbulent youth and the escape in England

Charles is wire of a Procureur of Arnay-the-Duke, royal notary, Louis Théveneau and of Philiberte Belin. One knows two Lazare-Jean brothers to him, known as Théveneau de Francy and Louis-Claude-Henry-Alexandre.
Scrambled with an authoritative father, after studies of right to the University of Dijon, it pushes back the paternal profession with the ambition of living of its feather. It is led in the regiment of the dragon S of Beaufremont in 1759. It remains there until the peace 1763. Always pushing back the career of the bar, it composes of the epigram S, courts and fights in Duel. Its family obtains against him a first Lettre de cachet for there remédier.
Released, it gains Paris then where it carries out a life of libertinage, between larcenies, play and Proxénétisme, côtoyant maintained women and bribing young foreigners”. He lives above his means and says himself “attached to the prince de Limbourg, adventurer notorious”. It is imagined that it adopts the particle on the occasion.
The February 17th 1765, it is announced to the general lieutenant of Sartine police force and “being made known for a villainous libertine who had badly venereal and which was in the frictions”, “woman-chaser”, “brutal” and “bad subject”, it is écroué with the Fort-l' Évêque.
He is given in freedom one month later. But its control remains suspect: he attends the closed houses, flies there of the watches. In May 1768, after a new scandal - it tried to remove a dancer of the Opera, Mr. Danezy - it regains Fort-l' Évêque under the pressure of his family. It tries to escape, is put at the dungeon for din and the July 22nd 1768, it is transferred to the House from Good-Wire from Armentières where it remains eighteen months in apparent a tranquillité.
To its exit hardly assagi it distributes disrespectful writings to large lords. One of those addressed to the duke of Vrillière is worth a news to him Lettre de cachet.
Overpowered debts, continued by the police force, it gains Liege by Champagne, from there Brussels then Ostend in order to embark there for the England.

First London years

Arrived at London in the greatest destitution in 1770, it becomes acquainted with a French couple, the sior and the lady of Courcelle, which provide him scandalous anecdotes and encourage it to write. Thus is born the Gazetier armoured about the months from April-May 1771. August 3rd, 1771, the work is in Paris, the royal critic François-Louis Claude Marin then announces it to the duke of Pivot to the head of the secretariat of State of the foreign affairs. If it is a time allotted to the duke of Lauraguais, which is irritated some, the police force of Paris as the writers of the Mémoires secrecies know that the “booklet is of the sior Morande above swindler in Paris, & who is not it less in London, since it passes for constant that it had thousand Guineas for the sale of this rhapsody: the booksellers of your capital had not made a similar market of easily deceived. ”
This lampoon was one of great successes of the clandestine literature at the end of the 18th century. Denunciation of the “ministerial despotism”, it swarms with anecdotes on alleged fashionable vices and the scandals peerage-books. It thus offers the image of a declining kingdom. Catalog insulted people, to the king and with Madam of Barry, her targets privileged remain the chancellor Maupeou and the duke of Vrillière whose caricatures decorate the Frontispice.
Morande after the publication of the Gazetier Armoured wife an English young person, Eliza Morande. It starts a career of “literary armed robbery”, distributing make out them defamatory and launching out in operations of blackmail. It thus puts at “composition of money several rich people in Paris by the fear of its feather” like Collet of Hauteville or or François-Abel Poisson, count de Marigny, brother of the marchioness of Pompadour. He would have thus threatened Voltaire in person. Among the victims of the lampoonist one finds also Louis-Leon-Happiness, duke of Brancas, count de Lauraguais resident in London which reduces to silence the lampoonist and receives from it amend in the London evening post of November 26th, 1773.

The Memories secrecies of a public woman

At the month of July 1773, Théveneau de Morande attacks favorite royal then, Madam of Barry, threatening Versailles of the publication again makes out which is dedicated to him. The count de Broglie, person in charge of the Secrecy of the king, enjoint the Knight of Éon, confidant of the lampoonist, to follow his steps and to stop the course of them. The title alone of the work is known for us - the Memories secrecies of a public woman or research on the adventures of Mrs. the countess of Barry since her cradle until the bed of honor, enriched by anecdotes and incidents relating to the cabal and the beautiful actions of the duke of Pivot , because the work, which however made great noise, forever considering the day.
Announced as of the month of July 1773 to Versailles by the Master of hotel of the king, it was to mobilize the attention of many actors: the ministry, the clan of Barry, the duke of Broglie and agents of London, and that, during nearly ten months. After the failure of several police operations, that of Rock of Champreux and certain Bellanger or Béranger, to remove the lampoonist, the government is solved with the purchase of makes out. Several negotiators present themselves to start with the knight of Eon, until the month of August 1774, then Marie-Felix Guerrier of Lormoy, probably in the current of the month of September 1774, carrying letters of the prince of the Double-deckers. During five months, of August 1773 in January 1774, the negotiation of the Mémoires secrecies knows an unquestionable undulation. Feeling threatened, Morande imposes on its interlocutors the payment of a life pension. At the beginning of January, the edition of makes out is completed, ready to be widespread. The hour is with the negotiation. The mission falls by royal decision with two men: the count de Lauraguais and Beaumarchais. The author claims more than thousand louis for the payment of his debts which rise with thirty-two thousand books. For the refunding of the edition, one negotiates a life pension of four miles books, reversible of half on the head of his wife, of the third on that of his children, according to the requirements of the lampoonist. April 29th, 1774, after having drawn up a report, an obligation by constraint in front of witnesses, after having drawn up a sale contract of the Memories , one destroys by the flame the complete edition. As underlines it the count de Moustier, French ambassador in London a few years later: “With the remainder I wish that we in the case of any more see never repurchasing these infamies. Morande itself, coiled Morande, regrets having encouraged these kinds of works by successes which it had to sell to it his. ”

The poacher become gamekeeper

As from 1774, Théveneau de Morande becomes the agent of Beaumarchais to London. It assists it in the research of make out as in its company of support for Insurgents American. Besides the author of the Mariage of Barber takes his young brother, Théveneau de Francy, with his service as secretary. Morande, which has bonds with the British opposition becomes an interlocutor of the French government. It informs the embassy of the movements of the fleet and the meetings of the parlement.
In parallel, it occupies a place of writer within a Franco-English gazette, the Courier of Europe . It become acquainted there with Brissot with which it maintains very bad reports/ratios. After the declaration of war, Morande is shown more discrete and lives in the surroundings of London. In 1784, the former lampoonist is recruited semi-officially by the embassy with which it had already taken part the last year in the unfruitful operation of the Receveur inspector against lampoonists. He subjects to the occasion a plan of police force for the town of London which highly interests the highest political figures of time. It is following this collaboration that he sees himself caricatured by Anne-Gédéon Fite de Pellepore in the Diable in a stoup .
For its services of espionage on behalf of the count de Moustier and of Adhémar, it is bleached by the government although it continues to produce make out like the black Gazette or the Private life of very the sérénissime prince, Mgr. the duke of Chartres, against a defamatory libel (1784, London). It facilitates on the occasion the arrest of Jacques Pierre Brissot, as well as lampoonists Anne-Gédéon Fitte de Pellepore and Jean-Claude Fini, so-called count de Chamorand.

The director of the Courier of Europe

As from the month of January 1784 and until May 179, Théveneau de Morande replaces Antoine Joseph Serre Tower with the direction of the Franco-English gazette the Courier of Europe . It benefits from this new platform to be used the interests as Beaumarchais, to present its political ideas and to attack its competitors and its adversaries of circumstances - which are often those of Beaumarchais or the government. Thus, Simon-Nicolas-Henri Pawl, Mirabeau, Joseph Balsamo and Calonne has to complain about the certain articles to vitriol due to the feather of Morande.

Pawl is former enemy of the lampoonist and competitor of Beaumarchais in the edition of works of Voltaire, it is attacked in the columns of the gazette. Mirabeau with as for him misfortune to be the competitor of Beaumarchais in the business of the Water-company of Paris. Of eagerness against Cagliostro and Calonne with personal reasons and the will to like the cause members of the government are mixed. In January 1787, the writer launches a series of articles under the title of Lettres of a traveller due to Morande where it defends the “crowned principle of a constitutional freedom”. He develops in these years a reforming political program while following of close the convocation of the ETAS-Generals and the events Parisian. He appears then in one makes out of Anne-Gédéon de Pelleport, the Bohémiens , under the name of Mordanes and as chief of a band of swindlers and lampoonists.

Return in France in the revolutionary upheaval

In May 1791, Théveneau de Morande regains Paris after twenty and one years of exile, probably called by the count de Montmorin. It launches a new periodical, the patriotic Argus which defends the principles of a constitutional monarchy. It expresses there its mistrust with respect to the “exagérateurs”, carried by a more general mistrust for the overflow popular. Its sheet, where it is defined as a royalist patriot, wants to return back to back Royou and Brissot. Brissot, the old enemy, is besides the main target of its attacks. Stopped before the Massacres of September of 1792 with the Caretaker's lodge, it is quickly slackened. It leaves the Parisian scene then to be made elect Justice of the Peace to Arnay-the-Duke where it “died rich and forgotten”.

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