Zulma Carraud (24 March 1796 – 24 April 1889) was a French author. She is best known for her children's books and textbooks particularly ''La Petite Jeanne ou le devoir'' and ''Maurice ou le travail''.

Early and family life

Carraud was born on 24 March 1796 in

Issoudun Issoudun () is a commune in the Indre department, administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is also referred to as ''Issoundun'', which is the ancient name. Geography Location Issoudun is a sub-prefecture, located in the east ...

. She attended boarding school where she met Laure de Balzac and through her,

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

, both of whom she remained lifelong friends with. She married her second cousin François Michel Carraud, who was 15 years her senior, in 1816. They had two children, Ivan and Yorick. They moved to

Nohant Nohant-Vic () is a commune in the Indre department in central France. It is located near La Châtre, on the D943, approximately southeast of Châteauroux and consists of two villages, Vic and Nohant, extended along the road. Geography The co ...

to live with her brother due to financial troubles in the 1850s. Carraud died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

on 24 April 1889 at the age of 93.

Career

After moving to Nohant, Carraud volunteered as a country doctor and as a teacher at a rural school from 1852 until 1868. She began writing books and textbooks for children in rural areas after struggling to get proper books while she was a teacher. She wrote books aimed specifically at children from peasant families and their parents and was one of the first children's authors to focus on main characters that were not from noble, bourgeois or working-class families. Her first book, ''La Petite Jeanne ou le devoir'' was published in 1852 and was aimed at girls. Her second book, aimed at boys, was called ''Maurice ou le travail'' and was published in 1853. Both were sold across France and were endorsed by the Minister of Public Instruction and Beaux-Arts and by the Archbishop of Paris. Between 1864 and 1920, both books sold over 400,000 copies and were used in many schools to teach children from rural backgrounds both reading and middle-class values with clearly defined gender roles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carraud, Zulma 1796 births 1889 deaths People from Issoudun 19th-century French women writers French children's writers French women children's writers 19th-century letter writers