Edmée de La Rochefoucauld (1896-1991) was a French activist for women’s voting rights and a writer, sometimes using the pseudonym Gilbert Mauge.
Edmée de La Rochefoucauld | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 28 April 1895 Paris, France |
| Died | September 20, 1991 (aged 96) Paris, France |
| Pen name | Gilbert Mauge |
| Language | French |
Early life edit
Edmée Frisch de Fels was born in Paris, France on April 28, 1895, the daughter of Edmund, Comte de Fels, director of the Revue de Paris,[1] and Comtesse de Fels, née Jeanne Lebaudy, who was a founder of the Union Nationale pour le Vote des Femmes (UNVF). On December 27, 1917 she married Jean, Duc de La Rochefoucauld,[2] heir to La Rochefoucauld ducal title.[3] They had two sons and two daughters.[3]
Career edit
De La Rochefoucauld was a Catholic leader in French women’s efforts to win the right to vote. She became an officer in the UNVF in 1927 and became its president in 1930.[3] In 1927, she founded and directed the UNVF's periodical L'Union nationale des femmes (National Union for the Vote for Women).[4]
For more than 60 years she was also a central figure in French world of letters, publishing her first book Fonction de X in 1926.[3] In 1938, she reported on Spanish Civil War. In 1944, she became a member of jury for the Prix Fémina.[3] In the 1950s, she published studies of Anna de Noailles, poet Leon-Paul Fargue, Yvan Goll, and Paul Valéry.[3] She also assisted her brother André de Fels who had become publisher of Revue de Paris, from 1961 to 1970.[3] She was elected to the Belgian Royal Academy of the French Language and Literature in 1962 and later that decade, published a guide to Cahiers of Paul Valéry (1964–1966).[3]
She published her last book in 1989, at age 94.[3] It was the final installment in her three-volume memoir entitled Flashes.
Death and legacy edit
She died in Paris on September 20, 1991.[3] She was 96.
Beginning in 1990, the Prix Edmée-de-La-Rochefoucauld is awarded annually to a first-time novelist. As of 2020, the prize included an award of 3000 Euros.[5]
Awards and honours edit
She was a commander of the French Legion of Honor.[1]
Publications edit
- Nombres (1926)
- Faust et Marguerites (1927)
- La Vie humaine (1928)
- Spanish Women (1938)
- La Femme et ses droits (1939)
- Les Moralistes de l'intelligence (1945)
- La Vie commode aux peuples (1947)
- Vus d'un autre monde (1950)
- Plus loin que Bételgeuse (1952)
- Choix de poèmes (1955)
- Menton (1962)
- La Nature et l'esprit (1965)
- Femmes dramaturges (1968)
- Courts Métrages (1970)
- Spectateurs (1972)
- L'Acquiescement (1978)
- Courts Métrages II (1980)
- Flashes (3 vols., 1982–89)
References edit
- ^ a b "* Edmee de La Rochefoucauld; Famed French Literary Critic". Los Angeles Times. 25 September 1991. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^ "DUCHESS EDMEE DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD". Orlando Sentinel. September 23, 1991. Archived from the original on 2021-04-18. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "La Rochefoucauld, Edmée, Duchesse de (1895–1991)." Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages, edited by Anne Commire and Deborah Klezmer, vol. 1, Yorkin Publications, 2007, p. 1088. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2588813593/GVRL?u=wikipedia&sid=GVRL&xid=c53cdaba. Accessed 14 Apr. 2021.
- ^ Bibliothèque historique de la Ville de Paris (8 June 2022). "Edmée de La Rochefoucauld, duchesse, catholique, féministe". L'échauguette (in French). Retrieved 27 October 2023.
- ^ lalettre (2019-01-31). "Palmarès du Prix Édmée de La Rochefoucauld". www.lalettredulibraire.com (in French). Retrieved 2021-04-17.