When Paris Rejected Shakespeare: The Playwright Who Divided London and the City of Light
Shakespeare’s works were rejected by French cultural elites for over a century due to violations of classical dramatic principles; Pierre Le Tourneur’s 1776 French translation sparked debate; English performances in Paris in 1827 at the Odéon Theatre created a cultural sensation and deeply affected audiences; Hector Berlioz fell in love with actress Harriet Smithson at these performances; Shakespeare is now regularly performed in Paris and the Bibliothèque Nationale houses major Shakespeare collections.