Jean-François Dreux du Radier (J. F. Dreux of the Foundation raft, a French commune) was born in Chateauneuf-in-Thymerais, France in 1714. He worked as a lawyer in Paris after attending the military Academy of Angers, of which he became a member in 1761.
According to the Bibliography of the French Literature of the Eighteenth Century (1969), Dreux du Radier published thirty-eight works, the most well-known being historical and political accounts, such as Historical and Critical Library of Poitou (1754), Historical and Anecdotal Shelves of the Kings of France (1759) and Historical Memories of the Queens and Regents of France (1776). However, he also wrote and compiled poetical, philosophical and other literary works, including New Fables and Other Pieces of Poetry (1744) and The Dictionary of Love (1741).
In examining the literary underground of eighteenth-century France, Robert Darnton found that Dreux du Radier was "exiled 'for propos' [seditious talk]" (179). Although Darnton's book, The Great Cat Massacre, does not state the date or title for which the author was exiled, his Corpus of Clandestine Literature includes Temple du bonheur, ou recueil des plus excellents traits sur le bonheur, extraits des meilleurs auteurs anciens et modernes, a work credited to Dreux du Radier in 1769 and confiscated by customs in 1775. The title translates, roughly, as The Temple of Happiness, or an anthology of the most excellent treatises on happiness, extracts of the better old and modern authors.
It seems that Dreux du Radier was, like John Cleland, living by his pen. However, unlike Cleland, he had a family to support: Darnton writes that he was "weighed down with offspring and therefore condemned to Grub Street for the rest of [his life]" (170). Dreux du Radier died in 1781.