Léonie D'Aunet
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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 Institute Fauvel. She married the painter
François-Auguste Biard François-Auguste Biard, born François Thérèse Biard (29 June 1799 – 20 June 1882) was a French painter, known for his adventurous travels and the works depicting his experiences. Biography He was born in Lyon. Although his parents intende ...
(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, subsequen ...
, undertook the La Recherche Expedition to
Spitzbergen Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it lies about midway between the northern coast o ...
, 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 ''Revue de Paris'' was a French literary magazine founded in 1829 by Louis-Désiré Véron. After two years Véron left the magazine to head the Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was found ...
''. In autumn 1843 she became acquainted with
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
, whom she most likely met at the salon of the Caribbean-born celebrity Fortunée Hamelin. 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. ...
''. 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 President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
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 bed in a hotel on the Passage Saint-Roch. Léonie was arrested and taken to the prison at Saint-Lazare. The King,
Louis-Philippe I Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his thron ...
, interceded in the case of Hugo, and bought off the husband with a career-changing commission for wall paintings for Versailles. Hugo was let know he should make himself scarce, and left the city. After two months, Léonie 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 Juliette Drouet (), born Julienne Josephine Gauvain (; 10 April 1806 – 11 May 1883), was a French actress. She abandoned her career on the stage after becoming the mistress of Victor Hugo, to whom she acted as a secretary and travelling compan ...
, visited her.


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 Jean Louis Edmond Saint-Edme De Manne, known under the name Edmond-Denis De Manne, (18 August 1801 in Paris – 6 May 1877 in Paris) was a 19th-century French playwright and journalist. De Manne was a member of the Société des auteurs et compo ...
, ''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 Léonie, 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 Livre, a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachette Fil ...
, 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 is a French-language online newspaper published daily in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1884, it is now owned by an independent nonprofit trust. ' was formerly a broadsheet daily, considered a newspaper of record in Canada. Its Sunday edi ...
''; ''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's drama ''Jane Osborn'' was performed by Lucie Mabire, on 30 January 1856 at the Porte de Saint-Martin theatre. She published serials in ''
Le Siècle ("''The Age''") was a daily newspaper that was published from 1836 to 1932 in France. History In 1836, was founded as a paper that supported constitutional monarchism. However, when the July Monarchy came to an end in 1848, the paper soon ch ...
'', ''Le Courrier de Paris'', ''Le Journal pour tous'' and ''L'Événement'', and wrote the fashion column at the magazine ''Les Modes parisiennes'' under the pseudonym "Thérèse de Blaru".


Family

Her son, Biard d'Aunet, married a daughter of the Lestang-Parade family. Her daughter, Marie Biard, wrote under the pseudonym Étincelle ("Sparkle") and 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


Further reading

*
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
, ''Lettres de Victor Hugo à Léonie Biard'', Jean Gaudon éd., Paris, Blaizot, 1990 * Françoise Lapeyre, ''Léonie d'Aunet'', Paris, JC Lattès, 2005 * Édouard Plouvier, ''Le Livre d'or des femmes : cent-douze biographies'', Paris, A. Lacroix, 1870, pp. 29–30, 326 pp. *
Gustave Vapereau Louis Gustave Vapereau (4 April 1819 – 18 April 1906) was a French writer and lexicographer famous primarily for his dictionaries, the ''Dictionnaire universel des contemporains'' and the ''Dictionnaire universel des littérateurs''. Biography ...
, ''Dictionnaire universel des contemporains : contenant toutes les personnes notables de a France et des pays étrangers'', Paris, Hachette, 1870, .


External links

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