Julia Daudet, born Julia Allard (13 July 1844 – 23 April 1940), was a French writer, poet and journalist. She was the wife and collaborator of

Alphonse Daudet Alphonse Daudet (; 13 May 184016 December 1897) was a French novelist. He was the husband of Julia Daudet and father of Edmée, Léon and Lucien Daudet. Early life Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the ...

, mother of

Léon Daudet Léon Daudet (; 16 November 1867 – 2 July 1942) was a French journalist, writer, an active monarchist, and a member of the Académie Goncourt. Move to the right Daudet was born in Paris. His father was the novelist Alphonse Daudet, his moth ...

Lucien Daudet Lucien Daudet (11 June 1878 – 16 November 1946) was a French writer, the son of Alphonse Daudet and Julia Daudet. Although a prolific novelist and painter, he was never really able to trump his father's greater reputation and is now primarily ...

and Edmée Daudet.

Biography

Julia Allard grew up in the

Marais Marais (, meaning "marsh") may refer to: People * Marais (given name) * Marais (surname) Other uses * Le Marais, historic district of Paris * Théâtre du Marais, the name of several theatres and theatrical troupes in Paris, France * Marais (c ...

neighbourhood in Paris, France. Her parents were interested in literature and hosted a salon frequented by

Marceline Desbordes-Valmore Marceline Desbordes-Valmore (20 June 1786 – 23 July 1859) was a French poet and novelist. She was born in Douai. Following the French Revolution, her father's business was ruined, and she traveled with her mother to Guadeloupe in search of fi ...

. Julia published a collection of poetry when she was 17 years old under the name Marguerite Tournay. On 29 January 1867 she married

and became his collaborator. The couple had a summer home in

Champrosay Draveil () is a commune in the department of Essonne in the southern suburbs of Paris, France.Edmond de Goncourt Edmond Louis Antoine Huot de Goncourt (; 26 May 182216 July 1896) was a French writer, literary critic, art critic, book publisher and the founder of the Académie Goncourt. Biography Goncourt was born in Nancy. His parents, Marc-Pierre Huot d ...

, Hélène Vacaresco, Maurice Barrès,

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

Édouard Drumont Édouard Adolphe Drumont (3 May 1844 – 5 February 1917) was a French antisemitic journalist, author and politician. He initiated the Antisemitic League of France in 1889, and was the founder and editor of the newspaper ''La Libre Parole''. ...

, Rosemonde Gérard-Rostand,

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...

Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, expert of Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote influe ...

, Arthur Meyer,

Léon Gambetta Léon Gambetta (; 2 April 1838 – 31 December 1882) was a French lawyer and republican politician who proclaimed the French Third Republic in 1870 and played a prominent role in its early government. Early life and education Born in Cahors, Ga ...

and

Rachilde Rachilde was the pen name and preferred identity of novelist and playwright Marguerite Vallette-Eymery (11 February 1860 – 4 April 1953). Born near Périgueux, Dordogne, Aquitaine, France during the Second French Empire, Rachilde went on t ...

. She published articles in many journals, including the ''

Journal Officiel A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

'', as a

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

under the pseudonym "Karl Steen". She was an active member of the jury of the

Prix Fémina 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 ...

, which gave her a venue to continue her literary activity after the death of her husband Alphonse Daudet in 1897. In 1913, through her son

, who was a good friend of

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...

, she was one of the first readers of the manuscript of ''

Remembrance of Things Past ''In Search of Lost Time'' (french: À la recherche du temps perdu), first translated into English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'', and sometimes referred to in French as ''La Recherche'' (''The Search''), is a novel in seven volumes by French ...

''. She was immediately taken with the text and encouraged the author to persevere at a time when he was doubting his talent, since the novel had been rejected by many editors. In 1922 she became a chevalier 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, ...

. She died in Paris at the age of 95.

Works

* ''L'enfance d'une Parisienne'', 1883 * ''Enfants et mères…'', Lemerre, 1889 * ''Poésies'', Lemerre, 1895 * ''Reflets sur le sable et sur l'eau'', Lemerre, 1903 * ''Miroirs et mirages'', Fasquelle, 1905 * ''Au bord des terrasses'', Lemerre, 1907 * ''Souvenirs autour d'un groupe littéraire'', Charpentier, 1910 * ''Quand Odile saura lire'', Crès, 1919 * ''Journal de famille et de guerre, 1914–1919'', Fasquelle, 1920 * ''Lumières et reflets'', Lemerre, 1920

Notes and references

External links

Notice par Alphonse Séché, suivie de quelques poèmes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daudet, Julia 1844 births 1940 deaths Daudet family French women poets 19th-century French poets French literary critics French women literary critics 20th-century French poets Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery 20th-century French women writers 19th-century women writers