1804–1874
Jules Gabriel Janin was one of the most celebrated French critics of the nineteenth century, famed for his weekly theatre feuilleton in the Journal des Débats. Born in Saint-Étienne on 16 February 1804, he studied in Paris and quickly joined the Débats as its principal dramatic critic around 1827.
His Monday column — dubbed the "prince of critics" by contemporaries — was the most-read theatre review in Paris for nearly fifty years. Witty, impressionistic, and deeply personal, Janin's prose style influenced a generation of French journalism.
Beyond criticism Janin wrote novels (including L'Âne mort et la femme guillotinée, 1829) and belles-lettres, and in 1870 he was elected to the Académie française. He died in Passy on 19 June 1874.
Janin was known for his warmth and generosity toward young writers, his love of paradox, and his instinct for the theatrical phrase. He was a fixture of literary salons and cultivated friendships with Hector Berlioz and Alexandre Dumas.
Débats colleagues and friends
Berlioz and Janin were both writing feuilletons for the Débats in the same decades (Berlioz from 1834, Janin from 1830).
Director and star critic
Bertin, as director, published Janin's celebrated Monday feuilletons for over three decades.
Succeeded at the Académie française, 1875–present
Lemoinne was elected to Jules Janin's former seat (Fauteuil 28) in 1875, taking it up in 1876; his reception speech opens by calling Janin "un des princes et des maitres du journalisme."