Abstract: Shakespeare shocked and seduced his first French readers in equal measures, but the Revolution undermined classical norms. Novelists played their part. Beginning in 1801, Nodier laid the foundations of a new dramatic theory. Shakespeare’s first unconditional enthusiast: Stendhal. The first person to bring him to the masses: Walter Scott. Hugo adapted Kenilworth for the stage and wrote the preface for Cromwell, which became the rallying flag for romanticism. During their exile, his son began translating his complete works.
