Paul Stapfer (1840–1917) was a Frenchessayist, born inParis, and educated at the Bonaparte Lyceum. After serving astutor in the family ofFrançois Guizot, he became a professor atGrenoble. In 1883, he accepted a similar professorship atBordeaux. Stapfer's essays are remarkable for their clarity of style, perfection of finish and accuracy of detail. He edited theGrands écrivains series. Among his works are:
Petite comédie de la critique littéraire deMolière selon les trois écoles philosophiques (1866)
Laurence Sterne, sa personne et ses ouvrages (2nd ed., Paris, 1882)
Shakespeare et l'antiquité (1883), which revealed toanti-Stratfordians the depth of its subject's knowledge ofLatin and his formidable acquaintance withGreek.
Goethe et ses deux chefs-d'œuvre classiques (1881)
