Christine à Fontainebleau (Odéon, October 13, 1829), by Frédéric Soulié, has been called “le premier effort de l‘école romantique.” The statement must of course be taken as referring only to the movement in the theatre, and even then needs qualification; but it contains a certain amount of truth. Christine was a “drame historique en cinq actes et en vers,” written in accordance with the principles of the Romantic school. At the time of its production, Cromwell had not been played; Amy Robsart, besides being merely a dramatic adaptation of a novel of Scott, was in prose; so was Henri III et sa cour; Vigny's translation of Othello, Hernani, and Dumas’ Christine were yet to come. The failure of Soulié's Christine was complete, and the excitement of its stormy first night was effaced by the subsequent and more spectacular première of Hernani. As a consequence this early romantic tragedy is practically forgotten, though it is mentioned, with varying degrees of accuracy, by several of Soulié's contemporaries, notably Dumas père and Jules Janin, and is occasionally referred to by modern scholars.