Élise Voïart facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elise Voiart
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Voiart in 1811
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| Born |
Anne-Élisabeth-Élise Petitpain
10 February 1786 |
| Died | 22 January 1866 (aged 79) Nancy, France
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| Occupation | Writer, translator, salon-holder |
| Spouse(s) | Jacques Philippe Voïart |
| Children | 3 including Amable Tastu, Élisabeth Voïart |
Élise Voïart (1786-1866) was a clever writer and translator from Nancy, France. She was known for writing historical books, fiction stories, and especially books for children. She also hosted special gatherings called "salons" at her home near Paris, where writers and artists would meet and talk.
Contents
About Élise Voïart
Élise was born on February 10, 1786, and her full name was Anne-Élisabeth-Élise Petitpain. She was the oldest of eight children in Nancy, France. Her father was an organist at the Nancy Cathedral, but he passed away when she was young. Élise learned a lot about German by helping her stepfather, M. Wouters, with his business.
In 1807, a special person named Monsignor Antoine Eustache d'Osmond thought Élise should meet Empress Josephine, the wife of Napoleon. The Empress was impressed and gave Élise some money (500 francs) and hoped she could go to a special school called Écouen. This school was for the daughters of people who had received the Legion of Honour, a very important award in France.
Marriage and Family Life
Élise planned to go to Écouen, but when she was 20, she met and married Jacques-Philippe Voïart. He was 30 years older than her and already had two daughters. One of his daughters was Amable Tastu, who later became a famous poet. Élise helped Amable with her reading and writing.
Élise and Jacques-Philippe had one daughter together, Élisabeth Voïart (born around 1814), who grew up to be an artist. The Voïart family lived in Choisy-le-Roi, a town near Paris. Élise's home became a popular place for thinkers and artists to gather. Famous people like the singer Béranger and the artists Pierre-Paul Prud'hon and Constance Mayer visited her "salon." Constance Mayer even painted a portrait of Élise, which you can see at the Museum of Fine Arts of Nancy.
Élise as a Translator
Élise Voïart's first published works were translations. This means she changed books written in German and English into French. Between 1817 and 1821, she translated 30 books! Many of these were popular novels. Sometimes, she would even change the stories a bit to make them her own.
However, when she translated Fridolin by Friedrich Schiller, she made sure to stick very closely to the original text. She believed this was the best way to show the "touching and simple" style of the German language. She even helped make "free verse poetry" more popular by not making the translated poems rhyme.
Writing Novels and Other Works
Élise Voïart also wrote her own books. Her first historical novel was called The Virgin of Arduene. It told the story of how ancient Gaul (which is now France) became part of the Roman Empire. This book was part of a new trend where writers wanted to explore France's past.
She also wrote special articles for magazines like the Ladies' Encyclopedia. These included pieces like Letters on the ladies' toilet (about fashion and beauty) and Essay on ancient and modern dance.
Writing for Young People
In the 1830s, Élise Voïart started writing for newspapers and magazines made for young women and girls. She wrote for publications like the Journal des dames, the Journal des Demoiselles, and the Journal des jeunes personnes.
When her stepdaughter Amable Tastu's husband had money problems, Élise helped her. Together, they started collecting fairy tales. Élise was very interested in sharing different cultures, so she also translated Popular Songs of the Servians (from Serbia) in 1834.
Later Life and Achievements
In 1836, the Voïart family welcomed an old and struggling writer named Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle into their home. He was famous for writing the words and music to the French national anthem, La Marseillaise. He lived with them until he passed away at 76.
After her husband died in 1842, Élise Voïart moved back to her hometown of Nancy. There, she wrote historical novels about the Lorraine region of France. People even called her "the Walter Scott of Lorraine," comparing her to a very famous Scottish historical novelist.
She also wrote many stories for a children's book series called the "Library of little children," started by a publisher named Alfred-Henri-Amand Mame. At a time when many children's books were "bland and moral," Élise's stories stood out. They showed a good understanding of how children think and often featured strong, independent girl characters.
Awards and Recognition
Élise Voïart received an important award called the Montyon Prize from the Académie française (the French Academy) in 1828. This was for her novel The Woman, or the six loves.
As she became more famous, her name was included in special collections of important people, like Montferrand's Femmes célèbres (Famous Women) and the Book of the Hundred and one. This showed that she was seen as one of the most important writers of her time.
In 1868, Élise Voïart made history again. She was chosen to be a member of the Académie de Stanislas (Stanislas Academy). She was the very first woman to receive this honor!
Death
Élise Voïart passed away on January 22, 1866, in Nancy. She was 79 years old.
What People Thought of Her Work
Some literary critics, like Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, wrote about Élise Voïart's work in a way that seemed a bit dismissive. He said she was "young, gifted (...) taste and talent for writing, known by several nice books."
However, her books and translations have been kept in libraries continuously since 1821. This shows how important and lasting her work truly was. As of 2017, libraries all over the world had 235 of her works in 523 different editions and 4 languages!
Some of Élise Voïart's Books
Here are just a few of the many books Élise Voïart wrote or translated:
- The Virgin of Arduene, 1821 (a historical novel)
- Letters on the ladies' toilet, 1822 (about fashion)
- Essay on ancient and modern dance, 1823 (about dance)
- La Femme ou les Six Amours (The Woman or the Six Loves), 1827–1828 (a novel that won an award)
- Fridolin (Schiller), 1829 (a translation)
- Fairy Tales: The book of children, 1836–1838 (collected with Amable Tastu)
- Le Robinson suisse (The Swiss Family Robinson), 1837 (a translation of a famous adventure story)
- La Petite Chapelle (The Little Chapel), 1845 (a children's story)
- Medor, the good dog, 1845 (a children's story)
- The Little Green Book, or how we learn to read well, 1845 (a children's story)
