Jeanne Cappe (29 August 1895 – 23 November 1956) 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 language ...

journalist and author who wrote books for young people.

Biography

The daughter of

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...

parents, she was born in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

. Her father, a lawyer, was accused of embezzlement and fled to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

; her mother Jeanne Fouassin disappeared and she was raised by her mother's parents. After completing her studies at a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

, she converted to Catholicism. She continued her studies at the Université de Louvain. Cappe began work as a journalist, as an editor for ''

Le Vingtième Siècle ''Le Vingtième Siècle''Sometimes abbreviated ''Le XXe Siècle''. (, ''The Twentieth Century'') was a Belgian newspaper that was published from 1895 to 1940. Its supplement ''Le Petit Vingtième'' ("''The Little Twentieth'') is known as the firs ...

'' from 1924 to 1928 and for ''La Nation belge'' from 1928 to 1955. From July 1927 to January 1928, she was editor-in-chief for ''La femme belge''. Around the same time, she married Fernand Desonay, a Belgian academic. Cappe helped found Scriptores catholici in 1934. She wrote several lives of the saints for young readers, such as ''Astrid, la reine au sourire'', published in 1935, which was translated into

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

and English. Cappe published adapted versions of works by

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

, the

brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

and

Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , also , ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales ...

. She also published non-fiction works about children's literature and on child psychology. She helped found the Conseil de littérature de jeunesse in 1949 and served as its president. The Conseil published the magazine ''Littérature de jeunesse'', which was published until 1976; Cappe directed its publication until her death 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 ...

at the age of 61.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cappe, Jeanne 1895 births 1956 deaths Belgian children's writers Belgian writers in French Belgian women children's writers 20th-century Belgian women writers