George Sand

Author profile

born

in Paris, France

July 01, 1804

died

June 08, 1876

gender

female

genre

Literature & Fiction, Women & Gender Studies

About this author

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Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin, later Baroness (French:baronne) Dudevant (1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pseudonym Georges Sand (French pronunciation: [ʒɔʁʒ sɑ̃d]), was a French novelist. She is considered by some a feminist although she refused to join this movement. She is regarded as the first French female novelist to gain a major reputation.

Sand's reputation came into question when she began sporting men's clothing in public — which she justified by the clothes being far sturdier and less expensive than the typical dress of a noblewoman at the time. In addition to being comfortable, Sand's male dress enabled her to circulate more freely in Paris than most of her female contemporaries could, and gave her increased access to...more Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin, later Baroness (French:baronne) Dudevant (1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pseudonym Georges Sand (French pronunciation: [ʒɔʁʒ sɑ̃d]), was a French novelist. She is considered by some a feminist although she refused to join this movement. She is regarded as the first French female novelist to gain a major reputation.

Sand's reputation came into question when she began sporting men's clothing in public — which she justified by the clothes being far sturdier and less expensive than the typical dress of a noblewoman at the time. In addition to being comfortable, Sand's male dress enabled her to circulate more freely in Paris than most of her female contemporaries could, and gave her increased access to venues from which women were often barred — even women of her social standing.

Also scandalous was Sand's smoking tobacco in public; neither peerage nor gentry had yet sanctioned the free indulgence of women in such a habit, especially in public (though Franz Liszt's paramour Marie D'Agoult affected this as well, smoking large cigars). These and other behaviors were exceptional for a woman of the early and mid-19th century, when social codes—especially in the upper classes—were of the utmost importance.

As a consequence of many unorthodox aspects of her lifestyle, Sand was obliged to relinquish some of the privileges appertaining to a baroness — though, interestingly, the mores of the period did permit upper-class wives to live physically separated from their husbands, without losing face, provided the estranged couple exhibited no blatant irregularity to the outside world.

Poet Charles Baudelaire was a contemporary critic of George Sand: "She is stupid, heavy and garrulous. Her ideas on morals have the same depth of judgment and delicacy of feeling as those of janitresses and kept women.... The fact that there are men who could become enamoured of this slut is indeed a proof of the abasement of the men of this generation."

However, other luminaries in the world of arts and letters did not necessarily agree with Baudelaire, a few quotes will suffice:

"She was a thinking bosom and one who overpowered her young lovers, all Sybil — a Romantic."
V.S. Pritchett (writer)

"What a brave man she was, and what a good woman."
Ivan Turgenev (novelist)

"The most womanly woman."
Alfred de Musset (poet)

George Sand died at Nohant, near Châteauroux, in France's Indre département on 8 June 1876, at the age of 71 and was buried in the grounds of her home there.(less)

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George Sand's Books

Average rating: 3.65 · 3,882 ratings · 270 reviews · 227 distinct works · Similar authors

	La Petite Fadette 3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 avg rating — 669 ratings — published 1849 — 46 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Indiana by George Sand, Sylvia Raphael (Translator), Naomi Schor (Introduction) 3.48 of 5 stars 3.48 avg rating — 621 ratings — published 1832 — 29 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	La mare au diable 3.36 of 5 stars 3.36 avg rating — 695 ratings — published 1846 — 78 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Consuelo 4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 415 ratings — published 1842 — 18 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mauprat 3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 avg rating — 149 ratings — published 1837 — 29 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Story of My Life: The Autobiography of George Sand by George Sand, Thelma Jurgrau (Editor) 3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 137 ratings — published 1855 — 17 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Marianne by George Sand, Sian Mills (Translator), Marilyn French (Foreword by) 3.5 of 5 stars 3.50 avg rating — 105 ratings — published 1876 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	La Comtesse de Rudolstadt 4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 110 ratings — published 1983 — 29 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Horace by George Sand, Zack Rogow (Translator) 3.64 of 5 stars 3.64 avg rating — 84 ratings — published 1842 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Winter in Majorca 3.18 of 5 stars 3.18 avg rating — 83 ratings — published 1841 — 35 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by George Sand…

Series by George Sand

Consuelo (2 books)
by George Sand
4.116190476190476 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 525 ratings

Quotes by George Sand

“Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness.”
― George Sand

tags: kindness

1,815 people liked it

“One is happy once one knows the necessary ingredients of happiness: simple tastes, a certain degree of courage, self denial to a point, love of work, and above all, a clear conscience.”
― George Sand, Correspondance, 1812-1876, Volume 5

1,292 people liked it

“Let us accept truth, even when it surprises us and alters our views.”
― George Sand, Letters Of George Sand

778 people liked it

See all George Sand's quotes »

Polls

Which book would you like to read in June 2013?

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

5 votes, 35.7%

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

4 votes, 28.6%

Villette by Charlotte Brontë

3 votes, 21.4%

Indiana by George Sand

2 votes, 14.3%

14 total votes

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