Background
Roucher was born in Montpellier, the son of a tailor.
(Collection Universelle des Me?moires Particuliers Relatif...)
Collection Universelle des Me?moires Particuliers Relatifs A? l'Histoire de France - Tome XXVI - XVIe?me sie?cle by Jean-Antoine Roucher. This book is a reproduction of the original book published in 1787 and may have some imperfections such as marks or hand-written notes.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IYBPU9W/?tag=2022091-20
Roucher was born in Montpellier, the son of a tailor.
His poem, entitled Les Mois, appeared in 1779, was praised in manuscript, but critically lambasted until the 19th century. The malicious wit of Antoine de Rivarol"s mot on the critical failure of the poem, "Cest le plus beau naufrage du siècle," reflects the fact that one of the most elaborate passages describes a shipwreck. Roucher was a disciple of Voltaire, and a friend of the French Revolution, but he remained moderate in his opinions.
He presided over an anti-Jacobin club, and denounced the tyranny of the popular demagogues in supplements published with the Journal de Paris in 1792.
He was arrested on October 4, 1793, and, accused of being the leader of a conspiracy among the prisoners at Saint-Lazare. In 1790, Roucher had translated Adam Smith"s Wealth of Nations.
His epithalamium on Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette won him the favour of Turgot, and a salt-tax collectorship.
(Collection Universelle des Me?moires Particuliers Relatif...)
