Valérie Boissier, comtesse de Gasparin (13 September 1813 – 1894) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...

woman of letters. She was a spokeswoman in topics such as freedom, equality and creativity."Valérie de Gasparin: une chrétienne contestataire"
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Le Temps ''Le Temps'' ( literally "The Time") is a Swiss French-language daily newspaper published in Berliner format in Geneva by Le Temps SA. It is the sole nationwide French-language non-specialised daily newspaper of Switzerland. Since 2021, it has ...

Biography

She was born at

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

. She was the wife of

Agénor de Gasparin Agénor Étienne, comte de Gasparin (12 July 1810 – 4 May 1871) was a French statesman and author. He was also an early psychical researcher known for conducting experiments into table-tipping. Biography He was born at Orange, Vaucluse, the s ...

. She lived a great part of her life in the canton of

Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms ...

, Switzerland, and was a prolific writer on religion, social topics and travel. She was conspicuous as an opponent of religious and social innovations. Several of her books were translated into English, the books of 1859 being read very widely in the United States in their English form. She opened with her husband the first nursing school in the world ; L’école La Source

Works

In addition to a number of translations of English and American authors, she published: * ''Le mariage au point de vue chrétien'', a work which won the Montyon prize from the

French Academy French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

(Marriage from the Christian Point of View, 1842) * ''Allons faire fortune à Paris'' (Let's Go Make a Fortune in Paris, 1844) * ''Un livre pour les femmes mariées'' (A Book for Wives, 1845) * ''Il y a des pauvres à Paris et ailleurs'', which also won the Montyon prize (There are Poor in Paris and Elsewhere, 1846) * ''Quelques défauts des Chrétiens d'aujourd'hui'' (1853) * ''Des corporations monastiques au sein du protestantisme'' (1855) * ''Les horizons prochains'' (The Near Horizon, 1859) * ''Les horizons célestes'' (The Heavenly Horizons, 1859) * ''Vesper'' (1861) * ''Les tristesses humaines'' (Human Sadness, 1863) * ''Au bord de la mer'' (By the Sea Shore, 1866) * ''La lèpre sociale'' (1870) * ''Journey in the South by an Ignoramus'' * ''Read and Judge'', strictures on the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

* ''Under French Skies'' or ''Sunny Fields and Shady Woods'' (1888) * ''Edelweiss: poésies; l’auteur des horizons prochains'' (1890) * ''Sur les montagnes'' (1890)

References

Sources

* * * 1813 births 1894 deaths Swiss translators Swiss countesses Writers from Geneva People from the canton of Vaud Swiss non-fiction writers 19th-century translators 19th-century Swiss women writers 19th-century Swiss writers {{Switzerland-writer-stub