François-Augustin Paradis de Moncrif

Moncrif, François‐Auguste Paradis de (1687–1770), French writer of Scottish descent, who served as secretary to several notable personages, including Marie Leszcynska, and eventually became secretary‐general of the French postal system. Besides plays, and moral and scientific treatises, he wrote Les Aventures de Zéloide et d'Amanzarifdine (The Adventures of Zeloide and Amanzarifdine, 1715). In this tale, which includes numerous embedded stories, Moncrif combines an oriental setting and the marvellous to portray a sentimental love plot with detailed psychological descriptions.

Bibliography

• Assaf, Francis (ed.), Les Aventures de Zéloide et d'Amanzarifdine (1994).

— Lewis C. Seifert

Moncrif, François-Augustin Paradis de (1687-1770). While holding various official positions (reader to the queen, censor, etc.), he wrote in a number of different genres: comedies, stories, songs, poems, and a famous work of mock erudition, Histoire des chats (1727).