Marguerite Borel known as Camille Marbo (11 April 1883 – 5 February 1969) ''née'' Marguerite Appell, was a 20th-century French writer, president and laureate of the

Prix Femina The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine '' La Vie heureuse'' (today known as '' Femina''). The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury. They reward French-language works written ...

in 1913 and president of the

Société des gens de lettres Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

Biography

Daughter of mathematician,

Paul Appell Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

(1855–1930), Camille Marbo was given the name Marguerite Appell. In 1901, she married the mathematician and politician

Émile Borel Félix Édouard Justin Émile Borel (; 7 January 1871 – 3 February 1956) was a French mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Math ...

(1871–1956). In 1906, she created ''

La Revue du mois ''La Revue du mois'' was a scientific and literary journal founded in 1906 by Émile Borel and his wife Marguerite Appell (called Camille Marbo). Its editorial board included Jean Perrin, Paul Langevin, Aimé Cotton, Jacques Duclaux, Henri Mouto ...

'', a scientific and literary journal, with her husband. The publication allowed contributors the opportunity to choose and discuss subjects as they pleased. Marguerite Borel personally took charge of the critiques of plays, novels, and various chronicles. When she began writing novels, she chose the pseudonym Camille Marbo, the name Marbo taking the first three letters of her first name Marguerite and the first two of her last name Borel. In 1913, Camille Marbo was awarded the

, then called ''Prix de la Vie heureuse'', for her first novel ''La statue voilée''. During the First World War, she set the ''Comité de secours national'', the national relief committee with her father. She also founded and ran a temporary hospital in Paris, which earned her the

Medal of French Gratitude The Medal of French Gratitude (french: "Médaille de la Reconnaissance française") was a French honour medal created on 13 July 1917 and solely awarded to civilians. The medal was created to express gratitude by the French government to all t ...

.. In 1916, she was asked to participate in the organization of women in the workforce in place of the men who had gone to battle. Benefiting from her experience as head of the hospital, she created a recruitment center for women, which auditioned, tested, and employed both salaried employees and volunteers in the services sector.. More than 20,000 women were employed through this program. The treatise she published in 1919, "Mobilization féminine en France", documents the contribution of these women to the Allied victory.. This document is notable for its unique content as well as its methodical and professional form. It is carefully contextualized and enriched with statistics.. She wrote about forty other novels, some monographs and memoirs. A friend of

Marie Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...

, she welcomed Marie and her daughters into her home and gave them shelter during the "affaire Langevin", a revelation made by the press of an extramarital affair between Marie Curie, a widow at the time, and

Paul Langevin Paul Langevin (; ; 23 January 1872 – 19 December 1946) was a French physicist who developed Langevin dynamics and the Langevin equation. He was one of the founders of the ''Comité de vigilance des intellectuels antifascistes'', an ant ...

. Marguerite Borel took part in the political life of

Saint-Affrique Saint-Affrique (; Languedocien: ''Sant Africa'') is a commune in the Aveyron department in Southern France. History Saint-Affrique grew in the 6th century around the tomb of St. Africain, bishop of Comminges. In the 12th century a fortress ...

and participated in the electoral campaigns of her husband, Émile Borel. Marguerite herself was deputy mayor of Saint-Affrique from 1947 to 1954. In February 1928, Camille Marbo succeeded Jean Dornis as president of the ''Denier des veuves de la SGDL'', giving assistance to the widows of writers without resources. She became president of the

in 1937 and was re-elected in 1938 and again after the liberation in 1947. She was also a member of the jury of the Prix Femina and later became its president. She published her memoirs in 1967 under the title '' À travers deux siècles, souvenirs et rencontres (1883-1967)''. Marguerite died in 1969, she was a

Commander of the Legion Of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Works

*1906: ''Christine Rodis'' *1913: ''La Statue voilée'', (

in 1913) *1918: ''Le Survivant'' *1924: ''Les Cahiers de Francine'' *1925: ''À l'enseigne du Griffon'' *1926: ''Hélène Barraux (celle qui défiait l'amour)'' *1931: ''À bord de la "Croix du Sud"'' *1932: ''Celle qui défiait l'amour'' *1933: ''Ruth'' *1934: ''Le Perroquet bleu'' *1936: ''Flammes juives'' *1938: ''Les Millions de l'émir'' *1941: ''Le Créole au cœur ardent'' *1941: ''Violette et son cœur'' *1943: ''La Baie des courlis'' *1944: ''L'Oiseau captif'' *1945: ''Le Buisson de lilas'' *1945: ''La Nièce du boucanier'' *1946: ''La Maison Bartholène'' *1947: ''L'Enigme du manoir'' *1947: ''Tante Estelle'' *1948: ''L'Idole offensée'' *1949: ''Sous les eucalyptus'' *1949: ''Le Chateau condamné'' *1950: ''La Tour carrée'' *1951: ''La Reine de Golconde'' *1952: ''Monsieur Charles'' *1953: ''Douce marraine'' *1953: ''Jeux de la science et de l'amour'' *1955: ''Isabelle et le secret'' *1955: ''Le Visiteur inconnu'' *1956: ''L'Amie de pension'' *1957: ''Le Bel héritage'' *1958: ''Mademoiselle Anaïs'' *1959: ''La Dame de Maison-Blanche'' *1959: ''Les Lettres'' *1960: ''Le Diamant bleu'' *1961: ''La Dernière nuit'' *1961: ''Un Étrange garçon'' *1962: ''Le Fiancé mystérieux'' *1963: ''La Protectrice'' *1964: ''Les Amoureux du Castillou'' *1965: ''L'Énigmatique Sylvio'' *1965: ''Le Sel de ma vie'' *1966: ''Mon amour, d'où viens-tu ?'' *1967: ''À travers deux siècles, souvenirs et rencontres (1883–1967)'', Paris, Grasset *1967: ''Clara Fontaine''

Distinctions

. *

, then called ''Prix de la Vie heureuse'', 1913. *

References

Bibliography

* "Camille Marbo", in ''Nouveau Dictionnaire national des contemporains'', Paris, 1962, vol. 1, p. 579. * * Mémoires
''À travers deux siècles, souvenirs et rencontres (1883–1967)''
Paris,

Éditions Grasset The Grasset Editions () is a French publishing house founded in 1907 by (1881–1955). History Founder In 1913, Bernard Grasset publishes the first volume of ''À la recherche du temps perdu'', by Marcel Proust, '' Du côté de chez Swann'', ...

, 1967.

External links

Camille Marbo
on the site of the Académie française

on Tombes et sépultures
''Jeux de la science et de l'amour'' première partie
on ''

Revue des Deux Mondes The ''Revue des deux Mondes'' (, ''Review of the Two Worlds'') is a monthly French-language literary, cultural and current affairs magazine that has been published in Paris since 1829. According to its website, "it is today the place for debates a ...