Alice de Chambrier facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alice de Chambrier
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| Born | 28 September 1861 Neuchâtel, Switzerland |
| Died | 20 December 1882 (aged 21) Neuchâtel |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Literary movement | Romanticism |
| Notable works | Au-delà |
Alice de Chambrier (born September 28, 1861 – died December 20, 1882) was a talented Swiss poet. She sadly passed away at just 21 years old from a diabetic coma. Her most famous work is Au-delà, a collection of poems put together by Philippe Godet.
Biography
Alice de Chambrier was born on September 28, 1861, in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Her parents were Alfred de Chambrier and Sophie de Sandol-Roy.
Early Life
Alice was only one year old when her mother passed away. She grew up in Neuchâtel. People described her as lively and gentle.
She lived her whole life in Neuchâtel. However, she spent 18 months in Darmstadt, Germany, between 1876 and 1877. She wanted to live abroad to learn German. She learned it so quickly that she even wrote a short play in German for her school friends to perform!
Becoming a Poet
When Alice returned from Darmstadt, she had grown into a young lady. She seemed calm and polite, but she had strong feelings inside.
She didn't start writing her first works until she was 17. She went to a girls' school called l'Ecole Supérieure des Jeunes Demoiselles. Her early poems became quite popular there.
One of her poems, the Atlandide (which means Atlantis), was very special. It told the old story of a lost continent that sank into the sea. A famous actress, Madame Ernst, even recited it in a public show!
After this event, people started to see her as a true poet. The day her father allowed her to focus on poetry, she felt very happy and fulfilled.
Awards and Inspiration
Alice received helpful advice from Madame Breton and the actress Mme Agar. These women inspired her to become a writer. She wrote many different things, not just poems. She also wrote comedies, dramas, and short stories.
She won several awards in writing contests. Her first award was in 1880 for her poem 'Phare de Cordouan'. She also won a special silver flower award in 1882. This was for her ballad La Belle au Bois dormant (which means Sleeping Beauty). However, she was too shy to read it in public.
Her Writing Style
Alice's personal library was quite small. It had some magazines, a few history books, and 'la légende des siècles' by Victor Hugo. She didn't try to copy anyone else's style in her poems. Instead, she wrote in a way that was true to herself and very natural.
Alice was also a very caring person. She looked after people who were poor or sick. She even visited a sick woman just four days before she passed away. Her parents didn't even know about her kind act.
She passed away quietly, just as she had lived.
Major works
- Atlantide, May 1880
- Belladonna, in Trois Nouvelles : Verena, Belladonna, Cendrillon, 1882
- Au-delà, 1883
- Le Chatelard de Bevaix dans le Musée neuchâtelois, 1884
- Œuvres poétiques, 1972
- Sibylle ou le Chatelard de Bevaix, 1983
- Légendes et récits, Liminaire, 1990
- Poèmes choisis, 1998
- Oh ! Laissez-moi chanter..., 2004
