Francois-Rene (Auguste), vicomte de Chateaubriand (; French: [fRaswa R@ne d@ SatobRija]; September 4, 1768 - July 4, 1848), was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who is considered the founder of Romanticism in French literature. Descended from an old aristocratic family from Brittany, Chateaubriand was a royalist by political disposition; in an age when a number of intellectuals turned against the Church, he authored the Genie du christianisme in defense of the Catholic faith. His works include the autobiography Memoires d'Outre-Tombe ("Memoirs from Beyond the Grave", published posthumously in 1849-1850). In his early works, he used the name Auguste instead of Rene.
Consulate and Empire
Chateaubriand took advantage of the amnesty issued to emigres to return to France in May 1800 (under the French Consulate); Chateaubriand edited the Mercure de France. In 1802, he won fame with Genie du christianisme ("The Genius of Christianity"), an apology for the Catholic Christian faith which contributed to the post-revolutionary religious revival in France. It also won him the favour of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was eager to win over the Catholic Church at the time.  Appointed secretary of the legation to the Holy See by Napoleon, he accompanied Cardinal Fesch to Rome. But the two men soon quarrelled and Chateaubriand was nominated as minister to Valais (in Switzerland). He resigned his post in disgust after Napoleon ordered the execution in 1804 of Louis XVI's cousin, Louis-Antoine-Henri de Bourbon-Conde, duc d'Enghien. Chateaubriand was, after his resignation, completely dependent on his literary efforts. However, and quite unexpectedly, he received a large sum of money from the Russian Tsarina Elizabeth Alexeievna. She had seen him as a defender of Christianity and thus worthy of her royal support.  Chateaubriand used his new-found wealth in 1806 to visit Greece, Asia Minor, Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia and Spain. The notes he made on his travels later formed part of a prose epic, Les Martyrs, set during the Roman persecution of early Christianity. His notes also furnished a running account of the trip itself, published in 1811 as the Itineraire de Paris a Jerusalem (Itinerary from Paris to Jerusalem). The Spanish stage of the journey inspired a third novella, Les aventures du dernier Abencerage (The Adventures of the Last Abencerrage), which appeared in 1826.  On his return to France, he published a severe criticism of Napoleon, comparing him to Nero and predicting the emergence of a new Tacitus. Napoleon famously threatened to have Chateaubriand sabered on the steps of the Tulieries Palace for it, but settled for merely banishing him from the city. Chateaubriand retired to a modest estate he called La Vallee aux Loups ("Wolf Valley"), in Chatenay-Malabry, 11 km (6.8 mi) south of central Paris. Here he finished Les Martyrs, which appeared in 1809, and began the first drafts of his memoirs. He was elected to the Academie francaise in 1811, but, given his plan to infuse his acceptance speech with criticism of the Revolution, he could not occupy his seat until after the Bourbon Restoration. His literary friends during this period included Madame de Stael, Joseph Joubert and Pierre-Simon Ballanche.

Q: What was the Consulate?
A: Chateaubriand took advantage of the amnesty issued to emigres to return to France in May 1800 (under the French Consulate);

Q: Why did he do this?
A: In 1802, he won fame with Genie du christianisme ("The Genius of Christianity"), an apology for the Catholic Christian faith

Q: What happened to the empire?
A: Appointed secretary of the legation to the Holy See by Napoleon, he accompanied Cardinal Fesch to Rome.
What did they do when they arrived in rome?
But the two men soon quarrelled and Chateaubriand was nominated as minister to Valais (in Switzerland).
But the two men soon quarrelled and Chateaubriand was nominated as minister to Valais (in Switzerland).