Born in 1811, died in 1872; studied painting in Paris, but
soon joined the romantic literary movement; his first book,
"Poèsies," published in 1830; an art and dramatic critic
1837-45; traveled in Spain, Holland, Italy, Greece and
Russia in 1840-58, publishing books describing those
countries and novels with them for scenes; many other novels
followed, with occasional collections of verse and
criticism.