French · 1868–1955
French poet, playwright, and diplomat whose Catholic faith shaped baroque dramas. A Christmas conversion at Notre-Dame in 1886 remade his life. He spent decades in the diplomatic corps—China, Japan, the United States, Belgium—while writing plays of immense scope. The Satin Slipper spans the globe and centuries; its first performance lasted eleven hours. His verse combines biblical cadence with modernist freedom. Elected to the Académie française, he became a cultural conservative while his dramatic experiments remained radical. The plays demand resources few theaters can provide.