Paul Scarron

Paul Scarron (1610-1660), French writer, born in Paris, and pioneer of the literary genres the drama, the burlesque epic, and the novel. He studied originally for the Church, but a nervous disease made him an invalid at the age of 27 and he took up writing. Scarron's most famous work is a picaresque novel, Le Roman comique (1651-1657; trans. 1741). He also wrote short stories, satires, including a parody of Virgil's Aeneid, burlesque poems, and plays which directly influenced the French dramatist Molière. Scarron married Françoise d'Aubigné, who later, as Madame de Maintenon, became mistress and wife of Louis XIV.