Louis Dubrau (real name Louise Janson-Scheidt) (19 November 1904 – 5 May 1997) was a Belgian writer. The daughter of Catherine Desmedt, a native of Belgium, and She was born in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. Her father, a native of the Lorraine region of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, committed suicide when she was two years old. She was educated at the Sorbonne and the Collège de France in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. She published her first poem in 1934 in the literary magazine ''Le Thyrse'' under the name Louis Dubrau. She wrote under a masculine name to avoid any bias of the critics towards women; Dubrau was the name of her father's mother. In 1935, she married Fernand Janson. She published the novel ''Zouzou'' in 1936, a collection of poems ''Présences'' in 1937 and a collection of short stories ''Louise'' in 1938. In 1939, she received the Prix Verhaeren for ''Abécédaire'', collection of poetry. In 1940, she published a book of aphorisms ''Amour, délice et orgue''. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she took part in the resistance against the German occupation and worked for the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

. She was also president of the Union des femmes de Belgique. In 1950, she published ''Service de nuit'' about her experiences during the war. After the war, she abandoned all political activity. She travelled extensively, visiting

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe and the United States. Her travels inspired the following works: * ''Ailleurs'' (poems) (1956) * ''La fleur et le turban'' (stories) (1959) * ''Les îles du Capricorne'' (story) (1967) In 1963, she received the

Prix Victor-Rossel The Prix Victor-Rossel is a literary award in Belgium that was first awarded in 1938. The award was created by three people associated with the newspaper ''Le Soir'': the owner Marie-Thérèse Rossel, the manager Lucien Fuss and the editor-in-chief, ...

for her novel ''À la poursuite de Sandra''. In 1973, she was admitted to the L’ Académie Royale de Langue et de Littérature Françaises de Belgique. In 1981, she received the Prix littéraire de la Communauté Française for her collection of stories ''Les imaginaires''. She died in Ixelles at the age of 92.

References

1904 births 1997 deaths Belgian poets in French Belgian women novelists Pseudonymous women writers 20th-century Belgian novelists 20th-century Belgian poets 20th-century Belgian women writers Belgian women poets Members of the Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique 20th-century pseudonymous writers University of Paris alumni Belgian expatriates in France {{Belgium-writer-stub