Marie Nizet (19 January 1859 – 15 March 1922), married name Marie Mercier, was a
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
writer.
Life
Marie Nizet 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 ...
into a literary family. She was a student at
Isabelle Gatti de Gamond
Isabelle Laure Gatti de Gamond (28 July 1839 – 11 October 1905) was a Belgian educationalist, feminist, and politician.
Life
Isabelle Gatti was the second of four daughters born to Giovanni Gatti, an Italian artist, and feminist writer Zoà ...
's secondary girls' school (''Cours d'Éducation pour jeunes filles''). Her father, employed at the
Royal Library of Belgium, had published patriotic poetry and works on history and librarianship. Her brother
Henri was to become a journalist and novelist.
Nizet developed an interest in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
, perhaps due to the influence of émigrés and students who lodged with the family. Her first poetic works were published in 1878, written during the
Romanian War of Independence
The Romanian War of Independence is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), following which Romania, fighting on the Russian side, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. On , Romania and the R ...
and before the
Congress of Berlin
The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, which had been won by Russia against the Ottoman Empire. Represented at th ...
secured Romania's independence, expressed her support for the Romanians and her opposition to
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
's attempts to dominate Romania. Her early work met with some success but her literary career was to be short, ending in 1879 when she married.
Her marriage ended in acrimonious divorce and Nizet was left to raise her son alone. Following her death at
Etterbeek
Etterbeek (French: ; Dutch: ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the municipalities of Auderghem, the City of Brussels, Ixelles, Schaerbeek, Wolu ...
in 1922, her son found a collection of love poems, dedicated to Nizet's late lover Cecil Axel-Veneglia, which were published the following year as ''Pour Axel'' to critical acclaim.
Selected publications
* ''Moscou et Bucharest'' (1877)
* ''Pierre le Grand à Jassi'' (1878)
* ''România (chants de la Roumanie)'' (1878)
* ''Le Capitaine Vampire'' (1879) (translated by
Brian Stableford
Brian Michael Stableford (born 25 July 1948) is a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped ...
as '' Captain Vampire''
* ''Pour Axel de Missie'' (1923)
Translations
* Linkhorn, Renée & Judy Cochran (eds), ''Belgian women poets: an anthology'' (2000)
* Shapiro, Norman R. (ed.), ''French Women Poets of Nine Centuries: The Distaff and the Pen'' (2008)
* Stableford, Brian (adapted by), ''Captain Vampire'' (2007)
References
* Benkov, Edith J., "Marie Nizet", in Katharina M. Wilson (ed.), ''An Encyclopedia of continental women writers'', Volume 2. New York: Garland, 1991.
* Brogniez, Laurence, "NIZET, Marie (1859–1922)", in
Éliane Gubin, Catherine Jacques, Valérie Piette & Jean Puissant (eds), ''Dictionnaire des femmes belges: XIX
e et XX
e siècles.'' (pp. 422–424) Bruxelles: Éditions Racine, 2006.
External links
* Nizet'
Româniaat the
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nizet, Marie
1859 births
1922 deaths
Belgian women poets
Writers from Brussels
19th-century Belgian poets
19th-century Belgian women writers