COMPLETE TITLE: Manuel dramatique à l'usage des auteurs et des acteurs, et nécessaire aux gens du monde qui aiment les idées toutes trouvées, et les jugemens tout faits. Par Geoffroy.

Geoffroy began his career as critic collaborating, since 1776, to the Année littéraire. From 1781 to1788, he collaborated with the Journal de Monsieur. In the years of the Revolution, he founded along with the Abbé Royou L'Ami du roi (1790-1792). In 1800 he joined the editorial board of Journal des débats (later Journal de l'Empire) as theater critic, working on theater and opera. Geoffroy's articles were collected after his death by E. Goose with the title Cours de littérature dramatique, ou Recueil par ordre de matières des feuilletons de Geoffroy (Paris, Pierre Blanchard, 1819-1820, 6 vols.). The Manuel dramatique has extracts from various of those articles.
In his critical observations Geoffroy seems to follow in full the classic code of rules governing plays and acting: it is fundamental for both author and actor to respect the principles of ‘raison' and ‘vraisemblance'. In particular, the expressiveness of the actor in voice and gestures must always maintain the ‘dignité de la représentation'. (See Paul Vernois, 'Le Manuel dramatique de Julien-Louis Geoffroy (1822) ou les avatars de l'esprit classique entre XVIIIe et XIXe siècles', in Les styles de l'esprit: Mélanges offerts à Michel Lioure, Clermont-Ferrand, Assoc. des Publ. de la Fac. des Lettres et Sciences Humaines de Clermont-Ferrand, 1997, pp. 7-14).