Resurrecting Jane de La Vaudère: Literary Shapeshifter of the Belle Époque

This engrossing narrative recounts the story of Jane de La Vaudère (née Jeanne Scrive), a prolific and celebrated writer of France’s Belle Époque. Interweaving biography and literary analysis, Sharon Larson examines the ways in which La Vaudère adapted her persona to shifting literary trends and readership demands—and how she created and profited from controversy. Relatively unknown today, La Vaudère published more than forty novels, poetry collections, and dramatic works as well as hundreds of shorter pieces. A controversial figure who was known as a plagiarist, La Vaudère attracted the attention of the public and of her peers, who caricatured her in literary periodicals and __romans à clef__. Most notably, La Vaudère claimed to have written the __Rêve d’Egypte__ pantomime, whose 1907 production at the Moulin Rouge featured a kiss between Missy and Colette that led to riots and the suspension of future performances. Larson scrutinizes the ensemble of these various media constructions, privileging La Vaudère’s self-representation in interviews and advertisements, and brings to light her agency in creating an image that captivated public attention and boosted sales of her writings. An engrossing examination of La Vaudère’s life and work, this volume probes the quandaries of scholarship seeking to responsibly recover lost female voices and makes a long-overdue contribution to nineteenth-century French literary studies. This engrossing narrative recounts the story of Jane de La Vaudère (née Jeanne Scrive), a prolific and celebrated writer of France?s Belle Époque. Interweaving biography and literary analysis, Sharon Larson examines the ways in which La Vaudère adapted her persona to shifting literary trends and readership demands?and how she created and profited from controversy.0Relatively unknown today, La Vaudère published more than forty novels, poetry collections, and dramatic works as well as hundreds of shorter pieces. A controversial figure who was known as a plagiarist, La Vaudère attracted the attention of the public and of her peers, who caricatured her in literary periodicals and romans à clef. Most notably, La Vaudère claimed to have written the Rêve d?Egypte pantomime, whose 1907 production at the Moulin Rouge featured a kiss between Missy and Colette that led to riots and the suspension of future performances. Larson scrutinizes the ensemble of these various media constructions, privileging La Vaudère?s self-representation in interviews and advertisements, and brings to light her agency in creating an image that captivated public attention and boosted sales of her writings.0An engrossing examination of La Vaudère?s life and work, this volume probes the quandaries of scholarship seeking to responsibly recover lost female voices and makes a long-overdue contribution to nineteenth-century French literary studies Contents Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 The Makings of a Biography Chapter 2 Becoming Jane de La Vaudère Chapter 3 La Vaudère’s Plagiarism Subversion Through Copy Chapter 4 The Plagiarized Plagiarist Missy de Morny, Colette, and the Scandal of “Rêve d’Égypte” Chapter 5 Deciphering La Vaudère’s “Fierce” Feminism Chapter 6 Driving into the Future The Château de La Vaudère and Continued Legacies Notes Jane de La Vaudère: A Comprehensive Bibliography Works Cited Index "Examines the life of French writer Jane de La Vaudère (1857-1908), exploring how she adapted her persona to shifting literary trends and readership demands, which captured public curiosity and advanced her sales"-- Provided by publisher