Marguerite Yourcenar

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Marguerite Yourcenar, born Marguerite de Crayencour in Brussels in 1903, faced significant loss early in life, losing her mother at birth and her native Belgium at six, followed by a forced move from France at twelve. This tumultuous past influenced her writing, which she described as a "passionate reconstitution of a moment or a man out of the past." Renowned in French literature, she is best known for works like Memoirs of Hadrian and The Abyss, and was the first woman elected to the Académie Française in 1980. Despite her literary acclaim, her life remained elusive, partly due to her own reticence, even in her autobiographical writings. Josyane Savigneau's biography delves into Yourcenar's complex life, marked by intertwined themes of loss and learning, and a paradoxical relationship with love. Through letters, diaries, and interviews with those close to her, Savigneau presents an intimate portrait of an artist who defied conventions: a Frenchwoman who cherished her language yet spent much of her life in New England, a seductress of women who also loved two young men, and a powerful female writer whose memorable protagonists were male. Savigneau, who first met Yourcenar in 1984, enriches the narrative with personal insights, revealing the profound intelligence, foibles, and trials of an incomparable artist.