Prevost

Manon Lescaut (Dodo Press) Prevost

Antoine François Prévost (Antoine François Prévost d'Exiles) (1697-1763), usually known simply as the Abbé Prévost, was a French author and novelist. In 1713 he became a novice of the order in Paris, pursuing his studies at the same time at the college of La Flèche. At the end of 1716 he left the Jesuits to join the army, but soon tired of military life, and returned to Paris in 1719, apparently with the idea of resuming his novitiate. His restless spirit made him seek from the Pope a transfer to the easier rule of Cluny; but he left the abbey without leave, and fled to England. In London he acquired a wide knowledge of English history and literature, as can be seen in his writings. Before leaving the Benedictines, Prévost had begun perhaps his most famous novel, Mémoires et Aventures d'un Homme de Qualité qui s'est Retiré du Monde (1728). In 1729 he left England for the Netherlands, where he began to publish (1731) a novel; Le Philosophe Anglais, ou Histoire de Monsieur Cleveland, Fils Naturel de Cromwell, Ecrite Par Lui-Même, et Traduite de L'Anglais (1731-1739, 8 vols).