“ URFÉ, HONORÉ D', Marquis de Valbromey, Comte de Châteauneuf (1568–1625) , French novelist and miscellaneous writer, was born at Marseilles on the 11th of February 1568, and was educated at the Collège de Tsarnon. ”

“ The two first parts of Astrée appeared in 1610, the third in 1619, and in 1627 the fourth part was edited and a fifth added by D'Urfé's secretary Balthazar Baro. Astrée set the fashion temporarily in the drama as in romance, and no tragedy was complete without wire-drawn discussions on love in the manner of Céladon and Astrée. D'Urfé also wrote two poems, La Sireine (1611) and Sylvanire (1625) . He died from injuries received by a fall from his horse at Villafranca on the 1st of June 1625 during a campaign against the Spaniards. The best edition of Astrée is that of 1647. ”