Léonie Thévenot d'Aunet (2 July 1820 – 3 March 1879) was a French author, novelist, playwright and Arctic explorer.

Biography

D'Aunet was born to Auguste-François-Michel Thévenot d'Aunet an officer of a military squadron from Québec, and d'Henriette-Joséphine d'Orémieulx. She was educated at the . She married the painter François-Auguste Biard (1798–1882) on 23 July 1840 in Paris. In 1838 the corvette ''La Recherche'' (1838–1839), under the command of

Joseph Paul Gaimard Joseph Paul Gaimard (31 January 1793 – 10 December 1858) was a French naval surgeon and naturalist. Biography Gaimard was born at Saint-Zacharie on January 31, 1793. He studied medicine at the naval medical school in Toulon, subsequent ...

, undertook the

La Recherche Expedition The La Recherche Expedition of 1838 to 1840 was a French Admiralty expedition whose destination was the North Atlantic and Scandinavian islands, including the Faroe Islands, Spitsbergen and Iceland. The expedition in the Scandinavian countries fro ...

Spitzbergen Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...

, to explore the Arctic. D'Aunet was by this time already living with Biard, and agreed to persuade her future husband to accept the position of official painter for the expedition, on condition that she be allowed to accompany him. She traveled with Biard across Belgium, Holland and Norway, before leaving Hammerfest, the northernmost city in Scandinavia, and returned after spending several weeks at Spitzbergen. She was the first woman to participate in a scientific expedition to the northern regions, On return, her letters were published, in serial form, in '' Revue de Paris''. In autumn 1843 she became acquainted with

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

, whom she most likely met at the salon of . Their relationship eased Hugo's life, inspiring him to the numerous poems of which one finds trace in ''

Les Contemplations ''Les Contemplations'' (''The Contemplations'') is a song and collection of poetry by Victor Hugo, published in 1856. It consists of 156 poems in six books. Most of the poems were written between 1841 and 1855, though the oldest date from 1830. M ...

''. Her seven year liaison was interrupted by Victor Hugo's exile after the coup d'état by

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

on December 2, 1851. On Monday April 1844, their relations became public knowledge, when on July 5, 1845, she was surprised with the writer in the act of adultery in a hotel on the . The commissioner let Hugo leave after hesitating, when Hugo invoked his inviolability as a peer of France, but Leonie was arrested and taken to the prison at Saint-Lazare. After two months, she was transferred to the Convent of the Ladies of Saint Michael, where

Adèle Foucher Adèle Foucher (27 September 1803 – 27 August 1868) was the wife of French writer Victor Hugo, with whom she was acquainted from childhood. Her affair with the critic Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve became the raw material for Sainte-Beuve's ...

(wife of Victor Hugo), who was glad to see a competitor to Juliette Drouet, decided to visit Leonie. In the meanwhile

Louis-Philippe I Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

awarded a commission to her husband to appease him.

Literary career

On September 10, 1845, she entered the convent of the Augustines, where she remained for about six months. Once released, she made frequent visits to Hugo's home. Adèle Hugo helped her, in exchange for clothing advice and interior decoration, to launch her literary career. Some even affirmed that most of her books were due to Victor Hugo Edmond-Denis De Manne, ''New Dictionary of anonymous and pseudonymous works: with the names of the authors or editors: accompanied by historical notes And critics'', Lyon, N. Scheuring, 1868, When Hugo left for exile, Adèle dissuaded her from joining him, but their correspondence did not cease. He, feeling responsible for the children of Leonie, upon his return from exile, regularly sent her money until his death. She entered into the literary career under her maiden name, after her legal separation from her husband in 1855. She began by publishing, as a book with

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...

, the account of her journey to Spitzbergen under the title of ''Voyage d'une femme au Spitzberg''. This work was followed by the ''Un Mariage en province'' (1856), published in '' La Presse''; ''The Vengeance'' (1857), ''Étiennette'', ''Silvère'', ''The Secret'' (1859), ''The Heritage of the Marquis d'Elsigny'' for the Library of the Railways from Hachette Publishers, and which earned her a distinguished place in the world of letters.

Playwright

D'Aunet also devoted herself to the theater by writing the drama ''Jane Osborn'', performed by Lucie Mabire, on 30 January 1856 at the Porte de Saint-Martin theatre. She also published serials in '' Le Siècle'', ''Le Courrier de Paris'', ''Le Journal pour tous'', and ', and held the fashion column at the magazine ''Les Modes parisiennes'' under the pseudonym "Thérèse de Blaru".

Family

She left a son, known as Biard d'Aunet, who married Miss de Lestang-Parade. She also had a daughter, , who died in 1897, who bore in literature the pseudonym ("Sparkle") and who successively married Viscount Peyronny and Baron Double de Saint-Lambert.

Works

Works on WorldCat
* ''Une place à la cour'', comédie en 1 acte, Poissy, Arbieu, 1854. *
Voyage d'une femme au Spitzberg
', Paris, Hachette, 1854. * ''Jane Osborn'', drame en quatre actes, Paris, A. Taride, 1855. * ''Un mariage en province'', Paris, W. Gerhard, 1856. * ''Étiennette ; Silvère ; Le Secret'', nouvelles, Paris, L. Hachette, 1859. * ''L'Héritage du marquis d'Elvigny. Les deux Légendes d'Hardenstein'', Paris, L. Hachette, 1863. * ''Une vengeance'', Paris, Hachette, 1857.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aunet, Leonie d Female explorers French women novelists 1820 births 1879 deaths 19th-century French women writers Hugo family