Élisabeth de Gramont (April 23, 1875 – December 6, 1954)

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Natalie Clifford Barney was a bilingual American playwright, poet and novelist who lived as an expatriate in Paris and ran a salon there for nearly fifty years, attracting the avant-garde of Modernism. She was the wealthy heiress of a railroad fortune. Élisabeth, Duchess of Clermont-Tonnerre, was a French writer, a descendant of Henry IV of France; when she was a child, according to Janet Flanner, "peasants on her farm begged her not to clean her shoes before entering their houses". They became lovers on May 1, 1910, a date that became their anniversary. In 1918, the two filed an "unofficial" but to them, binding "marriage contract": "After nine years of life together, joys and worries shared, and affairs confessed. For the survival of the bond, that we believe-and wish to believe-is unbreakable, since at its lowest level of reciprocal emotionalism that is the conclusion reached. The union, sorely tried by the passing years, failed doubly the faithfulness test in its sixth year, showing us that adultery is inevitable in these relationships where there is no prejudice, no religion other than feelings, no laws other than desire, incapable of vain sacrifices that seem to be the negation of life...“ Barney wrote in French about women’s same-sex desire and she was openly lesbian.

Timeline & Places:

April 23, 1875: born at Hôtel de Craon, Place de la Carrière, 54000 Nancy, Francia

1900s: lived at Château de Vallière, 60128 Mortefontaine, Francia

December 6, 1954: died. Buried at Château d’Ancy-le-Franc, 18 Place Clermont-Tonnerre, 89160 Ancy-le-Franc, Francia

References:

Days of Love: Celebrating LGBT History One Story at a Time
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325 (CreateSpace-Assigned)
ISBN-10: 1500563323
CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/4910282
Amazon print: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500563323/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MZG0VHY/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Queer Places, Vol. 3.1: Retracing the Steps of LGBTQ people around the World
ISBN-13: 978-1532906695 (CreateSpace-Assigned)
ISBN-10: 1532906692
CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/6228901
Amazon print: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1532906692/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IZXI10E/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Queer France: Retracing the Steps of LGBTQ people around the World
ISBN-13: 978-1979631112 (CreateSpace-Assigned)
ISBN-10: 1979631115
CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/7790987
Amazon print: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1979631115/?tag=elimyrevandra-20