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Marie Catherine Sophie, Comtesse d'Agoult (born de Flavigny; 31 December 18055 March 1876), was a French romantic author and historian, known also by her pen name, Daniel Stern.


Life

Marie was born in
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, Germany, with the full name of Marie Catherine Sophie de Flavigny, the daughter of Alexandre Victor François, Vicomte de Flavigny (1770–1819), a footloose émigré French aristocrat, and his wife Maria Elisabeth Bethmann (1772–1847), whose father was the German merchant and banker Johann Philipp Bethmann (1715–1793). The young Marie spent her early years in Germany and completed her education in a French convent after the Bourbon Restoration. She entered into an early
marriage of convenience A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than that of love and commitment. Instead, such a marriage is entered into for personal gain, or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as a political marriage. Cases whe ...
with Charles Louis Constant d'Agoult, Comte d'Agoult (1790–1875) on 16 May 1827, thereby becoming the Comtesse d'Agoult. They had two daughters, Louise (1828–1834) and Claire (1830–1912). Marie never divorced the count, even though she had left him for Franz Liszt. From 1835 to 1839, she lived with composer and
virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...
pianist
Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...
, who was six years younger, and was then a rising concert star. She became close to Liszt's circle of friends, including
Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...
(despite the hatred between her and Chopin’s partner
George Sand Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 â€“ 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. Being more renowned than either Victor Hugo or Honoré de Balz ...
), who dedicated his 12 Études, Op. 25 to her (his earlier set of 12 Études, Op. 10 had been dedicated to Liszt). Liszt's "Die Lorelei", one of his very first pieces, based on text by
Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...
, was also dedicated to her. From summer 1837 until autumn 1839 they travelled to
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and
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, staying successively in Bellagio,
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,
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,
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,
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,
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
,
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and
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. It was these travels that inspired the composer to write his cycle of piano collections entitled Années de pèlerinage. D'Agoult had three children with Liszt; however, she and Liszt did not marry, maintaining their independent views and other differences while Liszt was busy composing and touring throughout Europe. Her children with Liszt were: * Blandine Rachel (1835–1862), who was the first wife of future French prime minister Émile Ollivier and died at the age of 26 * Francesca Gaetana Cosima (1837–1930), who first married pianist and conductor
Hans von Bülow Freiherr Hans Guido von Bülow (; 8 January 1830 – 12 February 1894) was a German conductor, pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. As one of the most distinguished conductors of the 19th century, his activity was critical for establishi ...
and then composer
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
* Daniel (1839–1859), who was already a promising pianist and gifted scholar when he died of
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
. In 1876, she died in Paris, aged 70, and was buried in Division 54 of
Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...
.


Works

*Her first stories (''Hervé'', ''Julien'', and ''Valentia''), published 1841–1845 * ''Histoire de la révolution de 1848'' (appearing from 1850 to 1853, in 3 volumes), her best known work published under the name Daniel Stern * ''
Nélida ''Nélida'' is a novel by Marie d'Agoult, a "thinly disguised fictional account" of her affair with composer Franz Liszt that lasted from about 1834 to 1844, and a ''succès de scandale'' when first published in 1846. Marie later wrote several m ...
'', a novel (1846) * ''Lettres Républicaines'' in ''Esquisses morales et politiques'' (1849, collected articles) * ''Trois journées de la vie de Marie Stuart'' (1856) * ''Florence et Turin'' (1862) * ''Histoire des commencements de la république aux Pays-Bas'' (1872) *''A Catholic Mother Speaks to Her Children'' (1906, posthumously) *''Mes souvenirs'' (1877, posthumously). * Correspondence with Liszt * ''Mémoires, souvenirs et journaux de la Comtesse d'Agoult'', Mercure de France, Paris, 1990.


References

;Additional sources * Cronin, Vincent. ''Four Women in Pursuit of an Ideal''. London: Collins, 1965; also published as ''The Romantic Way''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1966. *Stock-Morton, Phyllis. ''The life of Marie d'Agoult, alias Daniel Stern''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. . *
Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions
' * * Bolster, Richard. ''Marie d'Agoult : The Rebel Countess''. Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 2000. .


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Agoult, Marie de 1805 births 1876 deaths People from the Free City of Frankfurt 19th-century French nobility French women novelists 19th-century German historians German memoirists German women memoirists Writers from Hesse German people of French descent German emigrants to France Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Franz Liszt Pseudonymous women writers German women novelists French women memoirists 19th-century French novelists 19th-century French composers 19th-century French women composers 19th-century French historians 19th-century French women writers 19th-century French memoirists 19th-century pseudonymous writers