An exceptionally versatile writer, Francois-Auguste-Rene de Chateaubriand was the foremost literary figure of early nineteenth-century France. Chateaubriand's Atala (1801) is a novel of ill-fated love between two American Indians of opposing tribes. His literary criticism was highly regarded, especially his Sketches of English Literature; with Considerations on the Spirit of the Times, Men, and Revolutions (London: Henry Colburn, 1836), translated from Essai sur la littérature anglaise et Considérations sur le génie des hommes, des temps et des révolutions (1836). Other works of note include Le Génie du Christianisme (1802) and René (1805), the story of an idealistic and alienated European who comes to America to find solace. Originally part of Le Génie du Christianisme, both Atala and René were detached for separate publication.