CUREL

curel, francois, vicomte de (1854- ), french dramatist, was born at metz on the 10th of june 1854. he was educated at the ecole centrale as a civil engineer, the family wealth being derived from smelting works. he began his literary career with two novels, _l'ete des fruits secs_ (1885) and _le sauvetage du grand duc_ (1889). in 1891 three pieces were accepted by the theatre libre. the list of his plays includes _l'envers d'une sainte_ (1892); _les fossiles_ (1892), a picture of the prejudices of the provincial nobility; _l'invitee_ (1893), the story of a mother who returns to her children after twenty years' separation; _l'amour brode_ (1893), which was withdrawn by the author from the theatre francais after the second representation; _la figurante_ (1896); _le repas du lion_ (1898), dealing with the relations between capital and labour; _la fille sauvage_ (1902), the history of the development of the religious idea; _la nouvelle idole_ (1899), dealing with the worship of science; and _le coup d'aile_ (1906). see also _contemporary review_ for august 1903.