Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé


Marie-Eugène-Melchior, vicomte de Vogüé was a French diplomat, Orientalist, travel writer, archaeologist, philanthropist and literary critic.

Biography

Born in Nice, France, he served in the Franco-Prussian War, and at the conclusion of the war entered the diplomatic service of the Third Republic, being appointed successively attaché to the legations in the Ottoman Empire and Egypt, then secretary to the embassy in Saint Petersburg. He resigned in 1882, and from 1893 to 1898 served as representative of Ardèche to the French National Assembly.
His connection with the Revue des deux mondes began in 1873 with his Voyage en Syrie et en Palestine, and subsequently he was a frequent contributor. He did much to awaken French interest in the intellectual life of other countries, especially of Russia, his sympathy with which was strengthened by his marriage in 1878 with a Russian lady, the sister of General Michael Nicolaivitch Annenkoff; De Vogüé was practically the first to draw French attention to Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Many consider de Vogüé's essay to be the first major examination of the novelist's work.
Eugène-Melchior was also a brother-in-law of Karl de Struve, Russian Ambassador to Japan, the United States, and the Netherlands.
He became a member of the Académie française in 1888. His uncle, Melchior de Vogüé, also served in the academy concurrently for a few years.
In 1897, he wrote a short series of books concerning the War of the Spanish Succession.

Works

Selected articles
  • . Revue des Deux Mondes, Vol. 122.
  • . Revue des Deux Mondes, Vol. 122.
  • . Revue des Deux Mondes, Vol. 123.
  • . Revue des Deux Mondes, Vol. 125.
  • . Revue des Deux Mondes, Vol. 130.
Posthumous
  • .
  • . Journal du Vicomte Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé: Paris, Saint-Pétersbourg 1877-1883.
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