La Comtesse Greffulhe: L'ombre des Guermantes

by Laure Hillerin

"Je n'ai jamais vu une femme aussi belle", écrit à son propos le jeune Marcel Proust. Véritable légende vivante dans le Paris de la Belle Époque, la comtesse Greffulhe ensorcela pendant plus d'un demi-siècle le Tout-Paris et le gotha européen avant de s'effacer desmémoires, dévorée par l'ombre des Guermantes qu'elle avait inspirés.Soulignant son rôle majeur dans le renouveau de la création musicale, le soutien décisif qu'elle apporta à Marie Curie ou encore son action en faveur de l'émancipation des femmes, Laure Hillerin ressuscite cette personnalité d'exception qui, transgressant nombre d'interdits, eut sur son époque une immense influence.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

608 pages, Pocket Book

First published October 15, 2014

Reviews

[Philippe Malzieu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The comtesse Greffulhe has inspired the character of the duchess of Guermantes in Proust. He considered her as the most beautiful woman that he never saw. She was intelligent and brave, but also scoffed by her husband. It's a good biography but I'm not fool of this kind of book. The interest of this one is a Proust'text never published before. It is a description of the comtesse's salon destinated to be published in "Figaro". She refused that and so the text stay unknown. It can be considered like "La recherche..."genesis. In fact it is a little deception. But I wait so much of it. A Proust text is always interesting.

[Claudia Șerbănescu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un volum extrem de relevant pentru entuziaștii aflați În Căutarea Timpului Pierdut! Excelent documentată, oferă chiar câteva documente și mărturii inedite despre cea care a fost muza lui Marcel Proust, Contesa Elisabeth Greffulhe. Note și surse bibliografice exhaustive. Singurul minus: absența fotografiilor.

O observație personală: anumite elemente biografice m-au dus cu gândul la triunghiul Maruca Cantacuzino-Mihail Cantacuzino-George Enescu. Mariajele aristocratice aranjate prin saloanele Belle Epoque au avut aceleași rezultate dramatice atât la Paris cât și în Micul Paris.

[Armance De Vernejoul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un étincelant portrait d'une femme d'exception, la comtesse Greffulhe (1850-1952). Une femme très belle et très charismatique, une des figures de la Belle Epoque. A travers sa vie, nous découvrons toute une époque, elle a accompli pour les arts et la musique de grandes choses. Elle a agi pour Dreyfus, pour l'émancipation des femmes. C'est une femme brillante, volontaire, courageuse et assez seule. Cette biographie se lit comme un roman.

[Marion · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography is original in that it doesn't follow the life of la comtesse Greffulhe but is divided into thematics : Music, Literature, the countess as an inspiration (among others) of Oriane de Guermantes in Proust's La Recherche.

The author manages to convey her admiration for an extraordinary character of the time who was extremely famous for more then 30 years and yet managed to more or less disappear from everyone's memory, being replaced by this Oriane de Guermantes written by Proust whom she refused to send her photograph (though he requested it time and time again) stating that "la photographie arrête la beauté des femmes". It is bittersweet and in its action to give back to the countess the place she deserved, I believe this book is successful.