Louise Fusil (née Louise Liard; 1765, 1771, or 1774 – 1848) was a French stage actress, singer and memoir writer, describing her life, travelling, and giving

ethnographical Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

details. These memoires are a pleasant read and of real interest, despite serious factual and chronological errors. The work constitutes a prime document for the study of the lifestyle of actors at the end of the eighteenth century.

Life

Louise was born in Dresden into a family of travelling actors, and married the actor Claude Fusil in Toulouse with whom she had a daughter. After she divorced in Lyon she made a solo career as a singer and actress. She was a pupil of

Niccolò Piccinni Niccolò Piccinni (; 16 January 1728 – 7 May 1800) was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly the ...

and performed popular classical tragedies at the Theatre des Beaujolais and

Salle Richelieu The Salle Richelieu () is the principal theater (structure), theatre of the Comédie-Française. It is located in the Palais-Royal in the first arrondissement of Paris and was originally constructed in 1786–1790 to the designs of the architect ...

. She notes the influence of the French revolution on new literary trends, the return to antiquity and the idealization of the heroes of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

. She was friendly with the actor

Julie Talma Julie Talma, born Louise-Julie Careau (8 January 1756 – 5 May 1805), was a French dancer at the Paris Opera who became a courtesan in the years before the French Revolution. She had three sons by three different fathers. She used the gifts from ...

, cooperated with

Chevalier de Saint-Georges Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George(s) (; ; 25 December 17459 June 1799) was a French violinist, conducting, conductor, composer and soldier. Moreover, he demonstrated excellence as a Fencing, fencer, an athlete and an accomplished dancer. ...

. Together with the horn virtuoso Lamothe, and Saint-George she went on a brief concert tour to Amiens and Tournai. Fusil gives details about her life in the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Ras ...

during the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

. In 1793 she met with

Joseph Le Bon Joseph Le Bon (29 September 1765 – 10 October 1795) was a French politician. Biography He was born at Arras. He became a priest in the order of the Oratory, and professor of rhetoric at Beaune. He adopted revolutionary ideas, and became a cu ...

, who had her imprisoned. She performed with

Marie-Joseph Chénier Marie-Joseph Blaise de Chénier (; 11 February 1764 – 10 January 1811) was a French poet, dramatist and politician of French people, French and Greeks, Greek origin. Biography The younger brother of André Chénier, Joseph Chénier was born ...

at the Festival of the Supreme Being. She was living in Russia for six years. She gave details in her memoirs about the people she met in salons in Saint Petersburg and Moscow. She witnessed the

fire of Moscow (1812) During the French occupation of Moscow, a fire persisted from 14 to 18 September 1812 and all but destroyed the city. The Russian Empire, Russian troops and most of the remaining civilians had abandoned the city on 14 September 1812 just ahe ...

, gave details on the looting French soldiers,

Fyodor Rostopchin Count Fyodor Vasilyevich Rostopchin () ( – ) was a Russian statesman and General of the Infantry who served as the Governor-General of Moscow during the French invasion of Russia. He was disgraced shortly after the Congress of Vienna, t ...

and Armand de Caulaincourt, and performed before Napoleon during the French occupation. Fusil returned with the suffering French army in October 1812. She described the cold weather, the fate of people and horses, the attacks of the

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

and the

battle of Krasnoi The Battle of Krasnoi (at Krasny or Krasnoe) unfolded from 15 to 18 November 1812 marking a critical episode in Napoleon's arduous retreat from Moscow.Lieven, p. 267. Over the course of six skirmishes the Russian forces under field marshal K ...

, where she picked up a child left by its mother twice. She travelled with general

François Joseph Lefebvre François Joseph Lefebvre, Duke of Danzig ( , ; 25 October 1755 – 14 September 1820) was a French military commander of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, and one of the original eighteen Marshals of the Empire created by N ...

and describes the crossing of the Berezina in Marshal Bessieères carriage and her arrival in

Vilna Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

where she met again with

Kutuzov Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov-Smolensky (; – ) was a List of Russian field marshals, Field Marshal of the Russian Empire. He served as a military officer and a diplomat under the reign of three House of Romanov, Romanov ...

and

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

. She then travelled to Finland and Sweden and met with

Madame de Stael Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

who also corresponded with Kutuzov. In 1833 she visited Sweden again. Between 1844 and 1848, she edited a fashion and literary periodical,"''Revue des dames''" which did not receive the same success according to her memoirs. At the end of her life she lived in a hospice and died in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

References

Source

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fusil 18th-century births 1848 deaths People of the French Revolution 18th-century French actresses 19th-century French actresses French stage actresses 19th-century French memoirists 19th-century travel writers French women singers French women memoirists