Geneviève Tabouis (23 September 1892 – 22 September 1985) was a French

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Biography

Tabouis was born in Paris in 1892, the daughter of Fernand Le Quesne (born 1856), a noted French painter. She was first educated at the Convent of the Assumption, a fashionable Parisian convent. When she was 13 years old, the

1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State The 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and State (French language, French: ) was passed by the Chamber of Deputies (France), Chamber of Deputies on 3 July 1905. Enacted during the French Third Republic, Third Republic, it establishe ...

was passed. In her 1942 autobiography, she wrote that a few years later, the nuns were forbidden to teach students. She left the convent school and went to public high school, where she specialized in archeology and Egyptology. She studied at the Faculté des Lettres in Paris and the School of Archeology at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. She wrote three popular books on the lives of Tutankhamen (1929), Nebuchadnezzar (1931), and Solomon (1936). Tabouis' family included French diplomats

Jules Cambon Jules-Martin Cambon (5 April 1845 – 19 September 1935) was a French diplomat and brother of Paul Cambon. As the ambassador to Germany (1907–1914), he worked hard to secure a friendly détente. He was frustrated by French leaders such as Ray ...

(her uncle) and his brother

Paul Cambon Pierre Paul Cambon (; 20 January 1843 – 29 May 1924) was a French diplomat and brother of Jules Cambon. Biography Cambon was born and died in Paris. He was called to the Parisian bar, and became private secretary to Jules Ferry in the '' pr ...

. Other relatives were senior diplomats and officials in the French military. Her autobiography does not mention her husband, , and refers only in passing to her son, who was called up into the French army in 1938, and to her daughter. She also mentions Arthur, her household servant. Tabouis moved in the highest social circles in France and England. She was invited to the

coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The coronation of the British monarch, coronation of George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Elizabeth, as King of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realm, ...

in 1936, referring in her autobiography to her coronation robe made by

Edward Molyneux Edward Henry Molyneux () (5 September 1891 – 23 March 1974) was a leading British fashion designer whose salon in Paris was in operation from 1919 until 1950. He was characterised as a modernist designer who played with the refinements of co ...

and to having her hair coiffured by one of the most popular hairdressers in London.

Career

In 1903, she spent several months at the French embassy in Madrid with her uncle, Paul Cambon. In 1906, she and her cousin saw the wedding of

Alfonso XIII of Spain Alfonso XIII ( Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also ...

and Princess

Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena of Battenberg (24 October 1887 – 15 April 1969) was List of Spanish royal consorts, Queen of Spain as the wife of King Alfonso XIII from their marriage on 31 May 1906 until 14 April 1931, when the Spanish Second Re ...

. From 1907 to 1914, she visited Berlin for a month or two each year to visit her uncle Jules Cambon, the French Ambassador to Berlin, meeting various German dignitaries. After World War I, she attended several sessions of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

with her uncle Jules. In 1924, she began writing articles about the League of Nations for the '' Le Petit Marseillais'' and ''La Petite Gironde'', two large provincial newspapers. Her editor at ''Le Petit Marseillais'' told her to sign her names as "G. Tabouis" to hide her gender; ''La Petite Gironde'' told her to use only her initials. As their correspondent, she attended the signing of the

Locarno Treaties The Locarno Treaties, known collectively as the Locarno Pact, were seven post-World War I agreements negotiated amongst Germany, France, Great Britain, Belgium, Italy, Second Polish Republic, Poland and First Czechoslovak Republic, Czechoslovak ...

in 1925. In 1932, following the death of

Aristide Briand Aristide Pierre Henri Briand (; 28 March 18627 March 1932) was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic. He is mainly remembered for his focus on international issues and reconciliat ...

, Tabouis began writing a daily column for the Paris newspaper ''L'œuvre'' in addition to reporting for ''La Petite Gironde'' and ''Le Petit Marseillais''. In 1933, she accompanied French Prime Minister

Édouard Herriot Édouard Marie Herriot (; 5 July 1872 – 26 March 1957) was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic who served three times as Prime Minister (1924–1925; 1926; 1932) and twice as President of the Chamber of Deputies. He led the f ...

who travelled to Moscow in an effort to forge a Soviet-French alliance against Germany. Tabouis repeatedly warned about Hitler's rise and German re-armament. For her troubles, the French writer

Léon Daudet Léon Daudet (; 16 November 1867 – 2 July 1942) was a French journalist, writer, an active monarchist, and a member of the Académie Goncourt. Move to the right Daudet was born in Paris. His father was the novelist Alphonse Daudet, his m ...

nicknamed her "Madam Tata, the Clairvoyant" in 1933. After Germany announced that it was re-introducing compulsory military conscription and rebuilding its armed forces in March 1935, the Greek diplomat

Nikolaos Politis Nikolaos Politis or Nikolaos Polites (also spelled Nicolas Politis; ; 1872 in Corfu, Greece – 1942 in Cannes, France) was a Greek diplomat in the early 20th century. He was a professor of law by training, and prior to the First World War, he ...

warned her "You better watch out, Madame Tabouis, or they'll begin to call you Cassandra. You predict dire events, and, the worst of it is, they always happen." Hitler himself attacked her writing in a 1 May 1939, speech where he sarcastically said "As for Madame Tabouis, that wisest of women, she knows what I am about to do even before I know it myself. She is ridiculous." When Tabouis vigorously campaigned for French support for Republican Spain against Franco, ''La Petite Gironde'' (which was supported by Spanish businessman and Franco ally Juan March) dropped her as a correspondent in 1935. ''Le Petit Marseillais'' (whose director was married to a Spanish Fascist) asked her to "modify" her tone—she left that paper as well. Tabouis became the foreign editor of ''L'œuvre'' in 1936, where her pro-Republican stance lead to attacks by the Parisian weeklies ''Candide'' and ''Gringoire'' as well as

Action Française ''Action Française'' (, AF; ) is a French far-right monarchist and nationalist political movement. The name was also given to a journal associated with the movement, '' L'Action Française'', sold by its own youth organization, the Camelot ...

. She strongly supported intervention to prevent the

German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, but the French chose not to intervene. Tabouis was accused of being a warmonger. On the eve of World War II, she was a regular correspondent for London's ''Sunday Referee'' in addition to her role at ''L'œuvre''. Tabouis fled France just before its surrender to Germany in 1940, having been warned that an arrest warrant was soon to be issued for her. She was forced to leave her husband, son, and daughter behind. She travelled to England and then to America. In New York, she wrote for New York's ''Daily Mirror'' and for London's ''Sunday Dispatch'' and edited the French-language ''Pour la victoire''. After the war, she returned to Paris where she wrote for: ''Free France'' (1945–1949), ''Information'' (1949–1956) and ''Paris-Jour'' (from 1959). From 1957 to 1981, she had a radio program on

Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...

Personal life

In 1938, ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' magazine reported that Tabouis was a non-smoker,

teetotaller Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to be ...

and

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

, and in a surgical operation had to have a kidney removed."Europe's Four Best Reporters Interpret the Continent's Bluff and Guff". ''

''. (15 August 1938). p. 27

Selected publications

* Geneviève Tabouis: ''Le Pharaon Tout Ank Amon, sa vie et son temps'' (1928) * Geneviève Tabouis: ''The Private Life of Tutankhamen; Love, Religion, and Politics at the Court of an Egyptian King'' (1929) * Geneviève Tabouis: ''Nebuchadnezzar'' (1931) * Geneviève Tabouis: ''Private Life of Solomon'' (1936) * Geneviève Tabouis: ''Life of Jules Cambon'' (1938) * Geneviève Tabouis: ''Blackmail or War'' (1938) * Geneviève Tabouis: ''Perfidious Albion - Entente Cordiale'' (1938) * Geneviève Tabouis: ''They Called Me Cassandra'' (1942) * Geneviève Tabouis: ''Grandeurs et servitudes américaines: souvenirs des U. S. A., 1940-1945'' (1945) * Geneviève Tabouis: ''Vingt ans de "suspense" diplomatique'' (1958)

References

External links