Richelieu by Lytton, 1st edition title page

''Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy'' (generally shortened to ''Richelieu'') is an 1839 historical play by the British writer

Edward Bulwer-Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (25 May 180318 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whigs (British political party), Whig member of Parl ...

. It portrays the life of the Seventeenth Century French statesmen

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

. The play has become best known for its line "

The pen is mightier than the sword "The pen is mightier than the sword" is a metonymic adage, created by English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839, indicating that the written word is more effective than violence as a means of social or political change. Under some interpret ...

", spoken by the Cardinal in Act II, Scene II. The play formed the basis of a 1935 American film ''

'' directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring

George Arliss George Arliss (born Augustus George Andrews; 10 April 1868 – 5 February 1946) was an English actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award – which he ...

as Richelieu.

References

Bibliography

* Stanton, Sarah & Banham, Martin. ''The Cambridge Paperback Guide to Theatre''. Cambridge University Press, 1996.

External links

* 1839 plays British plays adapted into films Biographical plays about religious leaders Plays set in France Plays set in the 17th century Plays based on real people Cultural depictions of Cardinal Richelieu {{1830s-play-stub