Cazotte, Jacques, * 17 Jan 1719 (Dijon), † 25 Sep 1792 (Paris)

A Catholic all his life, Cazotte was educated at a Jesuit school in Dijon. He went on to study Law, and went to Paris in 1740, where he took up a position in the Administration of the French Fleet. In 1741 he published some original fairy tales (La patte du Chat), and in 1742 a number of fantastic “oriental” tales such as Les Mille et une fadaises, inspired by the French translation (by Galland, 1704) of the Arabian Nights (in French, Les Mille et une nuits). His professional duties obliged him to sojourn in various French harbo…