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George Sand: A Woman's Life Writ Large
The author of classic novels including Indiana and Lélia , George Sand is perhaps better known for her unconventional life. Belinda Jack unravels the many facets of this writer who counted among her friends and lovers everyone from Chopin and Liszt to Dostoyevsky and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Sand defied convention by writing novels; but the fact that she was a cigar-smoking cross-dresser who took male and female lovers, declared marriage “barbarous,” and championed socialism made her a legend. Allowing Sand’s voice to be heard, but wise enough to question it, Jack presents a riveting study of a woman raised by her aristocratic grandmother and her prostitute mother, and whose life and work were forever fueled by rival worlds.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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About the author
Belinda Jack
13 books5 followersBelinda Jack is Fellow and Tutor in French at Christ Church, University of Oxford. She features regularly in the press and media thanks to the popularity and insight of her published works, including books such as The Woman Reader, George Sand: A Woman’s Life Writ Large and Negritude and Literary Criticism: The History and Theory of "Negro-African" Literature in French.
Professor Jack obtained her D.Phil. in Negritude and Literary Criticism at St John’s College, University of Oxford in 1989, having earlier obtained a degree in French with African and Caribbean Studies from the University of Kent. Her academic career over the past twenty years has been at Christ Church, University of Oxford, where she is an ‘Official Student’ (Fellow and Member of the Governing Body) and Tutor in French. Her main interest lies in French literature of the 19th and 20th centuries.
As well as her five books, Professor Jack is widely published through her many articles, essays, chapters and reviews. Her recent articles and reviews have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Literary Review, Times Literary Supplement, Times Higher Education Supplement, BBC History Magazine and Littérature. She is a regular on the BBC and international radio and television, as well as a frequent speaker at literary festivals throughout the British Isles and beyond.
In 2013 Professor Jack was appointed the Gresham Professor of Rhetoric.
Professor Jack obtained her D.Phil. in Negritude and Literary Criticism at St John’s College, University of Oxford in 1989, having earlier obtained a degree in French with African and Caribbean Studies from the University of Kent. Her academic career over the past twenty years has been at Christ Church, University of Oxford, where she is an ‘Official Student’ (Fellow and Member of the Governing Body) and Tutor in French. Her main interest lies in French literature of the 19th and 20th centuries.
As well as her five books, Professor Jack is widely published through her many articles, essays, chapters and reviews. Her recent articles and reviews have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Literary Review, Times Literary Supplement, Times Higher Education Supplement, BBC History Magazine and Littérature. She is a regular on the BBC and international radio and television, as well as a frequent speaker at literary festivals throughout the British Isles and beyond.
In 2013 Professor Jack was appointed the Gresham Professor of Rhetoric.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 2, 2016
Before I give in to my review I would like to express my admiration and respect for such a woman, as George Sand was, in her historical context and struggle to find herself, her true self. As an author of the XIX° century, whose prolific work has undoubtedly shaped modern and contemporary minds (once rediscovered), George Sand was presented to me during high school and now, at university, as a woman not so far from my XXI° century fellow women. For what regards her thoughts on equality, institutional, social and cultural matters, even political involvement, in her I have often found an inspirational advocate of stark truths.
Having expressed these thoughts, I will begin my review by stating that this book, to my relief, is not a romanticised biography, as often most are. All this is spite of the Romantic Age and of Sand's scorching love life. At least that is how I see it.
Belinda Jack's biography presents itself as a quite detailed, fragmentary analysis of the objective type. Never boring or difficult to comprehend, this exploration of Madame Sand's life is a 360° account, with the exception of few missing pieces between letters and writing which were either posthumously censured or destroyed by the author. In it the reader finds an itinerary of life, feeling, body, mind, family, friends, religion, society, convention, questions, intimacy, exposure, struggle, love, antagonism, drama, sexuality, self-discovery, art in its many forms and retrospective analysis of the psychological kind that Freud would expose nearly a century later; all of this is blended perfectly and with outstanding constancy with Sand's writing, be it correspondence, articles, theatre or novels.
It is a complete work, in-depth and containing a wonderful series of interludes made of quoted fragments from novels, letters and dairy entries from, to and regarding Sand. It is also thanks to these direct sneak peaks that the reader can better and more intimately appreciate the great persona she was as well as her fictional writings.
As a student of letters I have encountered a professor who, with quite some authoritarian belief, told us in class how unimportant and useless he finds this "need to teach and study the lives of authors". In his experience, the life of an author had little, if any, impact on their work. Although I find his Contemporary Italian Literature course interesting, I am compelled, by personal and academic experience, to wholeheartedly disagree! It might be an arguable matter, no doubt, but I honestly believe that without the life, family, choices, environment, culture and so much else that sums up the individual experience, authors (and all artists) would not have become who we know them to be. "Know" being too big a word to describe our crossing paths with writers, both deceased and alive, when not partaking intimately to their lives. To this belief, in my opinion, Sand makes no exception.
This biography has satisfied my personal and academic need to better know and understand the human behind the written word.
While reading Jack's account, with every discovery of George Sand's evolution, I felt more and more curious about her, her work, how she saw the world around her, how she exposed her findings in her prolific writing and how she perceived her fame, as well as some insight behind her creative process. All this and more can be found in this book, where the Epilogue takes in account how Sand's work and influence continues, with a period of posthumous pause, to mark the world, especially female writers; it even makes comparisons between biographies written from the beginning of the XX° century, when the major rediscovery occurred.
As I've previously said, it is an easy read, almost devoid of difficult vocabulary, but for a few words among which some in French. Mind you, when I say "easy", I don't mean simplistic as a book for children. The language is well balanced and with a good flow to follow. It even makes a fast read, but I preferred to take my time and enjoy it fully.
In conclusion, this is the biography I have been looking for! Extensive, detailed, insightful, definitely not dull, objective and honest. I recommend it from the bottom of my bookworm's heart.
Having expressed these thoughts, I will begin my review by stating that this book, to my relief, is not a romanticised biography, as often most are. All this is spite of the Romantic Age and of Sand's scorching love life. At least that is how I see it.
Belinda Jack's biography presents itself as a quite detailed, fragmentary analysis of the objective type. Never boring or difficult to comprehend, this exploration of Madame Sand's life is a 360° account, with the exception of few missing pieces between letters and writing which were either posthumously censured or destroyed by the author. In it the reader finds an itinerary of life, feeling, body, mind, family, friends, religion, society, convention, questions, intimacy, exposure, struggle, love, antagonism, drama, sexuality, self-discovery, art in its many forms and retrospective analysis of the psychological kind that Freud would expose nearly a century later; all of this is blended perfectly and with outstanding constancy with Sand's writing, be it correspondence, articles, theatre or novels.
It is a complete work, in-depth and containing a wonderful series of interludes made of quoted fragments from novels, letters and dairy entries from, to and regarding Sand. It is also thanks to these direct sneak peaks that the reader can better and more intimately appreciate the great persona she was as well as her fictional writings.
As a student of letters I have encountered a professor who, with quite some authoritarian belief, told us in class how unimportant and useless he finds this "need to teach and study the lives of authors". In his experience, the life of an author had little, if any, impact on their work. Although I find his Contemporary Italian Literature course interesting, I am compelled, by personal and academic experience, to wholeheartedly disagree! It might be an arguable matter, no doubt, but I honestly believe that without the life, family, choices, environment, culture and so much else that sums up the individual experience, authors (and all artists) would not have become who we know them to be. "Know" being too big a word to describe our crossing paths with writers, both deceased and alive, when not partaking intimately to their lives. To this belief, in my opinion, Sand makes no exception.
This biography has satisfied my personal and academic need to better know and understand the human behind the written word.
While reading Jack's account, with every discovery of George Sand's evolution, I felt more and more curious about her, her work, how she saw the world around her, how she exposed her findings in her prolific writing and how she perceived her fame, as well as some insight behind her creative process. All this and more can be found in this book, where the Epilogue takes in account how Sand's work and influence continues, with a period of posthumous pause, to mark the world, especially female writers; it even makes comparisons between biographies written from the beginning of the XX° century, when the major rediscovery occurred.
As I've previously said, it is an easy read, almost devoid of difficult vocabulary, but for a few words among which some in French. Mind you, when I say "easy", I don't mean simplistic as a book for children. The language is well balanced and with a good flow to follow. It even makes a fast read, but I preferred to take my time and enjoy it fully.
In conclusion, this is the biography I have been looking for! Extensive, detailed, insightful, definitely not dull, objective and honest. I recommend it from the bottom of my bookworm's heart.
April 15, 2023
I’ve been reading this slowly over the Easter vac. I was curious to know more about the life of this madly prolific, cross-dressing French 19th c. novelist. Having finished it, I’m a bit in awe of how many books she wrote and how many lovers she had, ha! Jack succeeds admirably in showing the complexity of her life. I did feel I was losing track of lovers at various points, but that is probably down to the life itself rather than the bibliography. I have a much better understanding of Sand now; I think the fact she was born of a working-class mother and an illegitimate aristocratic father must have done much to shape the focus on class inequality that emerges in her novels. I would like to know more about the estrangement between Sand and her daughter Solange; I suspect Sand wouldn’t have been an easy mother to have, but Jack focuses primarily on Sand’s view of the mother-daughter relationship, rather than focussing on the daughter’s point of view (which does make sense given that Sand herself wrote SO MUCH autobiography).
November 25, 2018
Sand (aka the Baroness Aurore Dudevant) came from mixed aristocratic blood and working class blood, and cross-class relationships figure into both her life and her writing. She was hugely prolific, full of contradictions and had many famous lovers and friends, from musicians Franz Liszt and Frederic Chopin to author Gustave Flaubert and artist Eugene Delacroix. This biography was well told and kept me turning the pages. My only criticism is that it seemed some sections of the book and of Sand's life were rushed - 7 years with Chopin pass in just a few pages, for instance. Overall, though, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to those who like French literature, strong women or just generally enjoy well-written biographies.
September 18, 2019
George Sand was the pen name of Aurore Dupin, a famous female French writer. Other than her novels, she is best known for being the primary romantic interest in Frederic Chopin's life. As a fan of Chopin's music I read this book primarily to find out more details about their relationship. I was disappointed to find that this biography has very little about her romance with Chopin. Sand did have a fascinating life, and this book has in-depth chapters about her childhood, adolescence, early adulthood and old age. All of which were enjoyable to read, but her middle aged years with Chopin, which is what most people want to know about, are strangely rushed through. A fine read, but it could have been so much better.
February 18, 2025
A wonderful book on a fascinating woman
July 26, 2017
A life "lived" large could be added to Jack's title of George Sand as her writing and her life often merged. Early in the book, Aurore Dupin (her true name before she adopted the pen name of George Sand) looked into a mirror and "began to explore possibilities for self-transformation" That is one of the essential truths about Sand that emerges from this 430 page biography. She chafed at the 19th century restrictions placed on a woman by French society and explored, both in her writing and in her life, various ways to transform herself.
Sand 's life (1804-1876) spanned a good part of the 19th century. A split in her consciousness appeared early as she was born to a French aristocrat and a woman of common origins. Her father's mother and Aurore's mother disagreed on how she was to be raised, and in her early years she divided her time between her grandmother's estate in the country at Nohant (200 miles south of Paris) and her mother's more humble lodgings in Paris. Her father died in a fall from a horse when she was eight years old, and from then, she began to spend most of her time in Nohant.
She loved he countryside at Nohant and began going on excursions dressing in comfortable men's clothing, a practice which she continued later in Paris. Passing as a man gave her freedom, for example, to go to plays alone, otherwise impossible for a woman. Later, she would gain notoriety for cross-dressing, but it was only for convenience. Her teen years were spent in a Catholic boarding school and at one point she considered becoming a nun. Instead at age 18, she entered into a conventional marriage with Casimir Dudevant, from the Nohant area, and had two children.
The marriage deteriorated. She still had her friends in Paris and when she frequently traveled there, she enjoyed their bohemian company. In Nohant, there was little to intellectually stimulate her. She did find an outlet for her frustration in putting her thoughts to paper, first writing in memoir and diary form. She loved to travel and had an initial affair while in Spain. Back home her husband was seducing the maid, so with all of this going on, the marriage became a miserable affair for everyone and led to a separation in which she received custody of the children.
She attempted to be a good mother, close to her children, a son and a daughter, no doubt trying to compensate for the erratic care she received from her own mother. What becomes symptomatic in her writing, as in much women's writing, is a split between woman as a mother and woman as a sexual being. There is often a pairing in her novels of male-female alter egos, and half-brothers and half sisters, all of which indicates a desire to release various aspects of their psyches. No single role is satisfying. Long term relationships can be stultifying , there is nothing sacred about them.
These ideas are carried out in her personal life as well. She had numerous affairs, and in l830 lived with Jules Sandeau, from whom she took the name "Sand", thinking that a man's name would gain her more respect rather than just being dismissed as a "woman" storyteller. Also involved were financial considerations as she began to realize she could make an independent living as a novelist. Various other affairs followed, including one with Alfred de Musset who wrote a detailed account of their time together. She probably had a lesbian liason with an actress, Marie Dorval, but her most famous affair was the time she spent with Fredric Chopin.
Her passionate advocacy of freedom of women made her a controversial figure and insured the popularity of her prodigious output of novels, the first to get recognition was INDIANA. She wrote as well voluminous essays, plays, letters and a massive multi-volume autobiography. She was friends with many 19th century writers, including, Flaubert, Balzac, and Turgenev, and was known by nearly everybody.
Sand's influence was widespread, even incalculable, in revising the perceptions of women's roles in society although she may not get direct credit. English-speaking audiences often only know of her life, rather than any of her novels. I'm in that category as before I had read this book, I thought of her only as a cross-dressing, cigar-smoking eccentric who had her most famous affair with Chopin. There's much more to her than that, and Jack has done a creditable job in depicting both the significance of her life and writings.
Sand 's life (1804-1876) spanned a good part of the 19th century. A split in her consciousness appeared early as she was born to a French aristocrat and a woman of common origins. Her father's mother and Aurore's mother disagreed on how she was to be raised, and in her early years she divided her time between her grandmother's estate in the country at Nohant (200 miles south of Paris) and her mother's more humble lodgings in Paris. Her father died in a fall from a horse when she was eight years old, and from then, she began to spend most of her time in Nohant.
She loved he countryside at Nohant and began going on excursions dressing in comfortable men's clothing, a practice which she continued later in Paris. Passing as a man gave her freedom, for example, to go to plays alone, otherwise impossible for a woman. Later, she would gain notoriety for cross-dressing, but it was only for convenience. Her teen years were spent in a Catholic boarding school and at one point she considered becoming a nun. Instead at age 18, she entered into a conventional marriage with Casimir Dudevant, from the Nohant area, and had two children.
The marriage deteriorated. She still had her friends in Paris and when she frequently traveled there, she enjoyed their bohemian company. In Nohant, there was little to intellectually stimulate her. She did find an outlet for her frustration in putting her thoughts to paper, first writing in memoir and diary form. She loved to travel and had an initial affair while in Spain. Back home her husband was seducing the maid, so with all of this going on, the marriage became a miserable affair for everyone and led to a separation in which she received custody of the children.
She attempted to be a good mother, close to her children, a son and a daughter, no doubt trying to compensate for the erratic care she received from her own mother. What becomes symptomatic in her writing, as in much women's writing, is a split between woman as a mother and woman as a sexual being. There is often a pairing in her novels of male-female alter egos, and half-brothers and half sisters, all of which indicates a desire to release various aspects of their psyches. No single role is satisfying. Long term relationships can be stultifying , there is nothing sacred about them.
These ideas are carried out in her personal life as well. She had numerous affairs, and in l830 lived with Jules Sandeau, from whom she took the name "Sand", thinking that a man's name would gain her more respect rather than just being dismissed as a "woman" storyteller. Also involved were financial considerations as she began to realize she could make an independent living as a novelist. Various other affairs followed, including one with Alfred de Musset who wrote a detailed account of their time together. She probably had a lesbian liason with an actress, Marie Dorval, but her most famous affair was the time she spent with Fredric Chopin.
Her passionate advocacy of freedom of women made her a controversial figure and insured the popularity of her prodigious output of novels, the first to get recognition was INDIANA. She wrote as well voluminous essays, plays, letters and a massive multi-volume autobiography. She was friends with many 19th century writers, including, Flaubert, Balzac, and Turgenev, and was known by nearly everybody.
Sand's influence was widespread, even incalculable, in revising the perceptions of women's roles in society although she may not get direct credit. English-speaking audiences often only know of her life, rather than any of her novels. I'm in that category as before I had read this book, I thought of her only as a cross-dressing, cigar-smoking eccentric who had her most famous affair with Chopin. There's much more to her than that, and Jack has done a creditable job in depicting both the significance of her life and writings.
October 9, 2016
After having recently read a novel of Sand's life (Dream Lover, by Elizabeth Berg) and feeling let down because it dealt almost entirely with her family and love life, I picked up this biography to fill in the rest. The truth was much better than fiction: Sand explored complex psychological issues in her numerous writings, wrote and staged successful plays, corresponded with many noted people of her time in the arts and other fields, and took an active interest in the political upheavals of mid-19th century Paris. She was far more remarkable and complicated than the novel suggested, and even contradictory sometimes in not always taking predictable feminist positions on various issues. Even though readers may not agree with her on everything, and even feel that she acted immaturely or recklessly at times, one cannot help loving Sand's fiercely independent spirit and the way she dared to question everything.
July 12, 2008
As a fan of George Sand's books, I enjoyed this biography but felt it was sometimes a bit vague and at a distance from Sand. The accounts of her lovers tended to blur into one another and the book doesn't really explain why Sand didn't get on with her daughter. All the same, it made me keen to read more of Sand's own work.
August 16, 2010
One of the best bios of George that I have read.
October 25, 2016
This woman was an utter boss.
June 16, 2012
Fascinating story of a fascinating woman
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews