Stendhal was One of the Greatest Writers of the 19th Century

1. Marie-Henri Beyle, who was known by his pen name Stendhal, was one of the greatest writers of the 19th century. Stendhal was born in Grenoble, France to a wealthy family in January of 1783. His mother died when he was only seven years old. At the age of sixteen, Stendhal moved to Paris to study for the entrance examination to the École Polytechnique but instead enlisted and served as a lieutenant in the French army for eighteen months. He spent the next few years in Paris writing and taking drama classes, followed by a second military role in the French army until the French Empire fell in 1814. After his time in the army had ended, Stendhal moved to Italy where he started his career as a writer. In Italy, Stendhal wrote his first novel titled Rome, Naples, and Florence in 1817. Then in 1818, he fell in love with Mathilde Dambowski who did not return his affections. Stendhals love for Mathilde inspired a lot of his most significant works. Taking advantage of his success in writing, Stendhal returned to Paris in 1821 to discuss the latest ideas of art, literature, and politics. This helped him write his next two novels; On Love and Racine and Shakespeare. Stendhal wrote Racine and Shakespeare as a romantic novel that insists that literature should reflect its historical moment. Stendhal continued to write magnificent novels until 1842 when he passed away as the result of a stroke. 2. Stendhal is considered to be an important author of western literature