Biography

Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, also known as George Sand, was a French Romantic writer, known especially for her rustic novels. She grew up in Nohant, near La Châtre in Berry, with her grandmother. In 1817 she was put into a convent in Paris. In 1822 she married Baron Casimir Dudevant. While initially happy, her husband was somewhat insensitive, though well-intentioned, and she soon became tired of him. She became friends with a young magistrate before moving on to an affair with one of her neighbors. In 1831 she moved to Paris and published some articles which she wrote with Jules Sandeau, known as Jules Sand. In 1832 she wrote Indiana and published it as George Sand. This novel, which protested social conventions, brought her immediate fame. She also had increasingly more lovers who influenced many of her early works. Eventually she began writing rustic novels, inspired by her love of the countryside and sympathy for the poor. The theme of these novels was that love could transcend class and convention.