Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Choudard-Desforges (15 September 1746 – 13 August 1806) was a French dramatist and man of letters.
He was born in Paris, the natural son of Dr. Antoine Petit. He was educated at the College Mazarin and the College de Beauvais and, in accordance with his father's wishes, began the study of medicine. Dr. Petit's death left him dependent on his own resources, and after appearing on the stage of the Comédie-Italienne in Paris he joined a troupe of wandering actors, whom he served in the capacity of playwright. He married an actress, and the two spent three years in Saint Petersburg, where they were well received.
In 1782 he produced at the Comédie Italienne an adaptation of Henry Fielding's novel with the title Tom Jones a Londres. His first great success was achieved with L'Epreuve villageoise (1785) to the music of André Grétry. La Femme jalouse, a five-act comedy in verse (1785), Joconde (1790) for the music of Louis Jaden, Les Epoux divorces (1799), a comedy, and other pieces followed. Desforges was one of the first to avail himself of the new facilities afforded under the Revolution for divorce and re-marriage. The curious record of his own early indiscretions in Le Poète, ou Mémoires d'un Homme de Letters, Écrits par Lui-Même (4 vols., 1798) is said to have been undertaken at the request of Madame Desforges. Another work of his that deserves mention is Le Sourd ou L'Auberge pleine.
He died in Paris in 1806.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.