La Revue politique et littéraire

La Revue politique et littéraire
Title	La Revue politique et littéraire
Founder	Émile Montégut
Firstdate	1872
Finaldate	1914
Country	France
Language	French
Based	Paris
Category	Politics; Literature

La Revue politique et littéraire was a French monthly periodical founded in the early 1870s that addressed contemporary affairs through essays, criticism, and serialized literature. It acted as a forum where figures from the worlds of the Third Republic, the Académie française, and Parisian salons debated questions relating to law, diplomacy, and letters. The journal intersected with major personalities and institutions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, linking cultural debates in Paris to developments in London, Berlin, Rome, Vienna, Saint Petersburg, and Washington.

History

The review emerged amid the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune, a milieu that also produced figures such as Jules Ferry, Adolphe Thiers, Léon Gambetta, Georges Clemenceau, and Jules Grévy. Its founding coincided with the consolidation of the Third French Republic, the rebuilding of Paris under Baron Haussmann, and the expansion of periodical culture exemplified by titles like Le Figaro, La Revue des Deux Mondes, Le Petit Journal, and La Presse. Early decades saw exchanges involving literary authorities associated with the Académie française, critics who debated the legacy of Victor Hugo, Gustave Flaubert, Émile Zola, Alphonse Daudet, and philosophers influenced by Henri Bergson and Auguste Comte. International context included responses to the Congress of Berlin (1878), the rise of Bismarckian Germany, and colonial contests involving Algeria, Indochina, and Tunisia.

Editorial Line and Political Orientation

The review's editorial line balanced conservatism and liberal republicanism, negotiating positions expressed by actors like Jules Ferry, Émile Ollivier, Paul Doumer, and critics aligned with Charles Maurras or the more moderate critics around Théophile Thoré-Bürger. Its pages hosted debates over secularism associated with the Dreyfus Affair, echoing interventions from figures such as Émile Zola, Joseph Reinach, Ferdinand Brunetière, and Maurice Barrès. Religious and diplomatic matters invoked responses tied to the Holy See, Republican laïcité, and relations with Vatican City and Italy. On foreign policy the review engaged with positions relevant to the Triple Entente, Triple Alliance, and episodes like the Bosnian Crisis, reflecting arguments advanced by diplomats including Jules Cambon, Théophile Delcassé, and Paul Cambon.

Contributors and Notable Articles

Contributors ranged from novelists and poets to statesmen and jurists: names appearing in its pages included Paul Bourget, Ernest Renan, Alphonse Daudet, Stéphane Mallarmé, Octave Mirbeau, Anatole France, Camille Pelletan, Raymond Poincaré, Théodore de Banville, and legal commentators conversant with the work of Jean Jaurès and René Viviani. The review serialized essays and polemics addressing literary movements such as Symbolism and Naturalism, often intersecting with reviews of works by Guy de Maupassant, Joris-Karl Huysmans, Maurice Maeterlinck, and translations of texts by Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Thomas Carlyle, and Mark Twain. Notable articles treated episodes like the Dreyfus Affair, the Panama Scandal, and analyses of the Russo-Japanese War, offering commentary that referenced contemporary figures including Georges Clemenceau, Alfred Dreyfus, Ferdinand de Lesseps, Émile Zola, and Count Lev Tolstoy.

Publication Details and Format

Published in Paris, the review followed the convention of monthly issues combining long-form essays, polemical notes, book reviews, and serialized fiction. Its typographical presentation resembled contemporaneous journals such as La Revue des Deux Mondes and Le Temps, with contributions arranged by section editors and occasional supplements for conference reports or translations. Printing and distribution involved Parisian printers and booksellers who also serviced subscribers in provincial centers like Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, and overseas francophone communities in Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Quebec. The editorial office maintained correspondence with foreign correspondents in capitals such as London, Berlin, Rome, Vienna, and Saint Petersburg to cover diplomacy, literature, and intellectual trends.

Reception and Influence

The review influenced literary criticism, legal scholarship, and diplomatic discourse, informing debates in institutions such as the Conseil d'État, the Cour de Cassation, and salons frequented by members of the Académie française. Critics and historians have traced its impact on networks that included editors of Le Figaro, Le Matin, and scholars associated with the Collège de France and École Normale Supérieure. Its essays shaped interpretations of authors like Victor Hugo, Charles Baudelaire, and Gustave Flaubert while intervening in policy debates that concerned ministers including Jules Ferry and Théophile Delcassé. Internationally, the review's translations and reviews introduced French readers to works by Henry James, Oscar Wilde, Herman Melville, and Anton Chekhov.

Decline and Cessation

By the early 20th century, competition from illustrated weeklies, the professionalization of journalism, and the polarizing effect of the Dreyfus Affair strained the review's audience and finances. The outbreak of the First World War and mobilization of contributors, combined with paper shortages and shifting public attention to dailies like L'Illustration and Le Petit Parisien, precipitated its suspension. The last issues before cessation reflected wartime priorities and commentary on battles such as the Battle of the Marne and the wider diplomatic ruptures involving Austria-Hungary and Germany, after which publication stopped and the title ceased to reappear in the interwar period.

Category:Defunct magazines published in France Category:French-language magazines Category:Publications established in 1872 Category:Publications disestablished in 1914