Joseph Méry

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Joseph Méry (1798-June 16, 1866) was an ardent romanticist. He collaborated with Auguste Barthélemy in many of his satires and wrote a great number of stories now forgotten. Nowadays he is perhaps best remembered as a librettist, and as the author of the play La Bataille de Toulouse which Verdi adapted for his opera La battaglia di Legnano.

He was noted in his time for his wit and ability to improvise. He produced several pieces at the Paris theatres, and also collaborated with Gérard de Nerval in adaptations from Shakespeare and in other plays.

Alexandre Dumas, père, in 1864, invited all the poets of France to display their skill by composing to sets of Bouts-Rimés selected for the purpose by Joseph Méry. Later in life Joseph received a pension from Napoleon III.

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• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.