Edmond Rostand

A prosperous family from the Marseilles bourgeoisie

The Rostand family occupied a privileged position in the city of Marseille in the 19th century. Young Edmond was the son of Eugène Rostand, an accomplished French lawyer, financier, man of letters and economist, and Angèle Gayet, the daughter of a wealthy industrialist. His grandfather, Alexis-Joseph Rostand, was a leading local politician, President of the Bouches-du-Rhône General Council, President of the Marseille-Provence Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Mayor of Marseille.

In fact, Edmond Rostand enjoyed a happy youth and was able to follow a high-quality education at the Lycée Thiers, one of the most prestigious schools in Marseille. There was no shortage of men of letters in his family, and young Edmond did no more than continue the family legacy by accumulating prizes and awards.

From law to literature, a clear path

Like many young men of his background, Edmond Rostand began by following a serious and respectable course of study, designed to ensure him a stable career. After passing his baccalauréat with flying colours at the Lycée Thiers, he left Marseille for Paris, where he enrolled in the Faculty of Law. But he was more attracted to the literary salons than the lecture halls, and was a regular visitor to writers’ and poets’ circles.

Already passionate about poetry as a teenager, he published Les Musardises at the age of twenty and received encouraging reviews for his first collection. This recognition reinforced his belief that his true vocation lay in literature and not in the courts. Gradually, he abandoned the prospect of a legal career to devote himself fully to writing, frequenting the great figures of the Parisian artistic scene and refining his style. His lively, lyrical pen soon found its most dazzling expression in the theatre, where he established himself as a playwright in his own right, thanks to his sense of language, bravura and emotion.

A literary triumph: Cyrano de Bergerac

First performed in Paris in 1897, Cyrano de Bergerac catapulted Edmond Rostand to fame. This verse play, full of wit, emotion and panache, tells the story of a brilliant and ill-fated soldier-poet whose prominent nose should not overshadow his courage, sense of honour and sensitivity in the face of injustice. Translated throughout the world, this heroic romance has become a universal classic, celebrating love, freedom and the beauty of words with unrivalled intensity.

Edmond Rostand’s legacy in Marseille

Marseille is paying tribute to the playwright by naming the street where he was born after him. If you go to 14, rue Edmond Rostand, in the 6th arrondissement, you will see a plaque attached to the house where he was born.

Although the playwright died in Paris in 1918, his eternal resting place is in Marseille, in the shade of the pines and to the song of the cicadas. You can pay your respects at his grave in the Saint-Pierre cemetery: the family vault underwent a complete restoration in 2017 and has been restored to its former glory.

A secondary school in Marseille now bears the name of Edmond Rostand, and the pupils who study there are taught about this great playwright who was born in the city where they grew up.

Edmond Rostand’s works can be found in Marseille’s bookshops, where you can read his plays and essays in the Calanques, on the beaches of the Prado, on the ramparts of Fort Saint-Jean, in the Mucem or on a café terrace in a shady square in the Panier!