L'Abbe Constantin by Ludovic Halevy, Fiction, Classics, Literary

CROWNED BY THE FRENCH ACADEMY

Ludovic Halvy was a French dramatist and novelist, the son of Lon Halvy and a nephew of Jacques Franois Fromenthal Halvy. He was educated at the Lyce Louis le Grand in Paris, and after graduating he entered the service of the government. During this period he wrote several comic operas under the nom de plume of "Jules Servires." His success with these induced him to resign his position, and devote himself entirely to the drama in association with Henri Meilhac. The operas written by Halvy and Meilhac were successfully produced on nearly all the stages of Europe and America. In addition to dramas Halvy produced novels and stories.

L'Abb Constantin is a comedy in three acts, taking place against the background of the Franco-Prussian War. The Abb is curate of a small church supported by the income of a nearby estate. The estate has passed into the hands of an American owner, whom the Abb presumes will be Protestant and uninclined to support his church.