Adélaïde-Gillette Dufrénoy (née Billet) (1765,

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

– 1825,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a French

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and woman of letters from

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. She is best known for her

elegies An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...

and was an active part of the literary scene in Paris.

Biography

Madame Dufrénoy was born in

on 3 December 1765, the daughter of Jacques Billet, a

jeweller A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmithing, goldsmithing, stone setting, engraving, ...

for the

Crown of Poland The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (; ) was a political and legal concept formed in the 14th century in the Kingdom of Poland, assuming unity, indivisibility and continuity of the state. Under this idea, the state was no longer seen as the pa ...

. She had a lavish education and studied at Sœurs Hospitalières de la Roquette, the convent her aunt Mère Saint-Félix oversaw. There, she studied advanced

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

to a proficient enough level to translate the works of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

and

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

. When she returned home, her father invited her into his literary circle, where she met for the first time her cousin Jean-Louis Laya, who introduced her to

French poetry French poetry () is a category of French literature. It may include Francophone literature, Francophone poetry composed outside France and poetry written in other languages of France. French prosody and poetics The modern French language does not ...

. She also reconnected with her childhood friend Gabrielle Charpentier, at whose cafe she met her future husband. At the age of fifteen, she married a rich prosecutor 26 years her senior, Simon Petit-Dufrénoy, at the Châtelet de Paris. They settled at the corner of Quai de l'École and

Rue de l'Arbre-Sec The Rue de l'Arbre-Sec () is an old street located in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon, near the Place des Terreaux and the Opera Nouvel. It starts perpendicular to the Rue Édouard-Herriot and ends with the Quai Jean Moulin crossing the Rue de l ...

, where she was able to open a

literary salon A salon is a gathering of people held by a host. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to please or to educate" (Latin: ''aut delectare aut prodesse''). Salons in the tradition of the Fren ...

, attracting the company of Nicolas Chamfort, Madame de Saint-Huberty,

Louis de Fontanes Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

and

Fabre d'Églantine Philippe François Nazaire Fabre d'Églantine (; 28 July 1750 – 5 April 1794), commonly known as Fabre d'Églantine, was a French actor, dramatist, poet, and politician of the French Revolution. He is best known for having invented the names o ...

, among others. In 1787, her career as a writer started with a small work titled ''Boutade, à un ami.'' The same year, she became director of the magazine ''Le Courrier lyrique et amusant'', a post she held until 1789. She also had a few of her poems published in the poetic periodical ''

Almanach des Muses ''L'Almanach des Muses'' was a French-language poetry magazine published in Paris, France. History and profile ''Almanach des Muses'' was founded in 1765 by Claude-Sixte Sautreau de Marsy, Sautreau de Marsy. The magazine was much in vogue during ...

''. In 1788, she tried her hand with

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

, and wrote a play, ''l'Amour exilé des Cieux'' ("Love Exiled from the Skies"). Her home was set on fire at the start of the French Revolution, leading to the

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

of her husband. They moved to a house on Rue Montmartre and Madame Dufrénoy did menial work for lawyers and businessmen to help bring in money. As Paris became more dangerous, her cousin Laya suggested they relocated to La Fossée, an estate on the edge of the Bondy Forest in

Sevran Sevran () is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Seine-Saint-Denis, northeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. History The current Hôtel d ...

, where her son was born in 1792. They remained there until her husband was given a job by the

Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

in the Court of

Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...

, Italy. As her husband went blind, Madame Dufrénoy accompanied him to the courtroom, where she wrote and read on his behalf. Her presence caused a stir and her husband's position was eventually revoked by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. Madame Dufrénoy had written a number of elegies in Italy while she was feeling deep nostalgia for France. When they returned, they lived with her parents and recently widowed sister Sophie at their home in Rue Bourtibourg. There, she returned to writing to support her own family. She started to write erotic poetry, veiled in elegy. In 1807, the first edition of her Elegies was published. Eventually, her friend Louis de Fontanes, at that point a high-ranking politician, convinced Napoleon, Arnault and the Comte de Ségur, to provide her with an allowance in gratitude for her service to the literary world. With the financial support, she was able to re-open her literary salon, which welcomed back old friends like

Jean-Nicolas Bouilly Jean-Nicolas Bouilly (24 January 1763 – 14 April 1842) was a French playwright, Libretto, librettist, Children's literature, children's writer, and politician of the French Revolution. He is best known for writing a libretto, supposedly based ...

and

Marceline Desbordes-Valmore Marceline Desbordes-Valmore (20 June 1786 – 23 July 1859) was a French Romanticism, French Romantic poet and novelist. Early life and education Desbordes-Valmore was born in Douai. Following the French Revolution, her father's business was ...

and brought in new faces including

Pierre-Jean de Béranger Pierre-Jean de Béranger (; 19 August 1780 – 16 July 1857) was a prolific France, French poet and Chansonnier (singer), chansonnier (songwriter), who enjoyed great popularity and influence in France during his lifetime, but faded into obscurity ...

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...

and

Jacques Arago Jacques Étienne Victor Arago (6 March 1790 – 27 November 1855) was a French writer, artist and explorer, author of a ''Voyage Round the World''. Biography Jacques was born in Estagel, Pyrénées-Orientales. He was the brother of François Ar ...

. In 1814, she was awarded a prize by the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

for her poem ''Les derniers moments de Bayard''. During her career, Madame Dufrénoy was a journalist for ''

Mercure de France The () was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was publis ...

'' and edited for journals including '' La Minerve littéraire'', ''Almanach des Dames'' and ''Hommage aux Demoiselles''. She also wrote children's books and translated novels from English into French. In 1812, she sang for the

King of Rome The king of Rome () was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom, a legendary period of Roman history that functioned as an elective monarchy. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine H ...

and, the following year, she was part of the escort that accompanied

Marie Louise of Austria Marie Louise (Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Franziska Theresia Josepha Lucia; 12 December 1791 – 17 December 1847) was Duchess of Parma from 11 April 1814 until her death in 1847. She was Napoleon's second wife and as such Empress of the French a ...

Cherbourg-en-Cotentin Cherbourg-en-Cotentin (, ; Norman: ''Tchidbouo'') is a port city in the department of Manche, Normandy, northwestern France, established on 1 January 2016.Rue des Francs-Bourgeois The Rue des Francs-Bourgeois () is one of the longer streets in the Marais district of Paris, France. Starting near the Centre Georges Pompidou (Rue Rambuteau), the road is considered trendy, with numerous fashion boutiques. The Rue des Francs- ...

and died on 7 March 1825.

Legacy

* ''Sur la mort de Mme Dufrénoy'', an ode by

Amable Tastu Amable Tastu, born Sabine Casimire Amable Voïart, (30 August 1795André Bellard: ''Pléiade messine'', in ''Mémoires de l'Académie nationale de Metz'', n°59, 1966-1967. - 10 January 1885) was a 19th-century French poet and writer ( femme de l ...

from 1825 * "Ma Lampe", a song by

containing the repeated line ''Je lis les vers de Dufrenoy'' ("I'm reading the poems of Dufrénoy"). * There is a street in the Parisian suburb of

called Rue Adélaïde Dufrénoy * In 1826, Antoine Jay began publishing the multi-volume ''Œuvres poétiques de Mme Dufrénoy'', an annotated collection of Madame Dufrénoy's poems

Selected works

* ''Cabinet du petit naturaliste'' (1810–1819), Chez A. Rigaud: Paris * ''La femme auteur, ou Les inconvénients de la célébrité'' (1812), Chez F. Béchet: Paris * ''L'Anniversaire de la naissance du Roi de Rome'' (1812), P. Didot: Paris * ''Élégies, suivies de poésies diverses, par Mme Dufrénoy'' (1813), A. Eymery: Paris * ''Le Tour du monde, ou, Tableau géographique et historique : de tous les peuples de la terre'' (1814), Chez A. Rigaud: Paris * ''L'Hymne des Français... à S. A. R. la duchesse d'Angoulême, lors de son entrée à Paris'' (1814), Chez Brasseur Ainé: Paris * ''Étrennes à ma fille, ou Soirées amusantes de la jeunesse'' (1816), A. Eymery: Paris * ''L'Enfance éclairée, ou les Vertus et les vices, par Mme Dufrénoy'' (1816), A. Eymery: Paris * ''Biographie des jeunes demoiselles ou vies des femmes célèbres depuis les hébreux jusqu'à nos jours'' (1816), A. Eymery: Paris * ''Petite Encyclopédie de l'enfance, ou, Leçons élémentaires de grammaire, de géographie, de mythologie, d'histoire ancienne et moderne, d'histoire des religions, d'arithmétique et mathematique, de physique, d'histoire naturelle, des arts et métiers'' (1817), Chez A. Rigaud: Paris * ''Plaintes d'une jeune Israélite sur la destruction de Jérusalem, élégie'' (1817), A. Eymery: Paris * ''Hommage aux demoiselles'' (1818), Chez Le Fuel: Paris * ''Les Françaises, nouvelles'' (1818), A. Eymery: Paris * ''La Petite ménagère, ou l'Éducation maternelle'' (1821-1822), A. Eymery: Paris * ''Abécédaire des petits gourmands'' (1822), Lefuel: Paris * ''La Convalescence, élégie'' (1823), J. Tastu: Paris * ''Beautés de l'histoire de la Grèce moderne, ou Récit des faits mémorables des Hellènes depuis 1770 jusqu'à ce jour'' (1825), A. Eymery: Paris * ''Les Conversations maternelles'' (1826), A. Eymery: Paris (posthumous) * ''Nouvel Abécédaire des petits gourmands'' (c. 1850), published posthumously by J. Langlumé; lithographs sometimes attributed to Victor Adam * ''Faits historiques et moraux'' (1877), Chez A. Rigaud: Paris (posthumous)

External links

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dufrenoy, Adelaide 1765 births 1825 deaths 18th-century French poets French women poets Writers from Nantes 19th-century French poets 18th-century French journalists 19th-century French journalists Poets from Paris