Actress, Poet. After a respected career on the stage, she published a number of well-received poetic works. Raised initially in France, then in Guadeloupe, where her family moved after they were ruined by the French Revolution, little is known of her early life. Marceline took-up acting and singing to support herself following her mother's death from yellow fever, and earned good reviews in several European venues, including Rouen, Douai, the Theatre de la Monnaie, Brussels, and the Opera-Comique, Paris, gaining special note as Rosine in Beaumarchais' "Le Barbier de Seville". Continuing her theatrical work during the early stages of her literary career, she released her first volume of poetry, "Elegies et romances", in 1819. Having married her second husband, Prosper Lanchantin-Valmore, in 1817, she retired from acting in 1823 to devote herself to writing. Though her formal education had been limited, Marceline's talent was apparent, with her work both selling well and being lauded by critics. She was to pen a total of seven volumes, the last of her lifetime being "Bouquets et prieres" (1843), with a final "Poeses posthumes" being published in 1860. Marceline's friend Honore de Balzac used her as the model for the title character in his "La Cousine Bette"; today, a portion of her poetic output remains in print.
Actress, Poet. After a respected career on the stage, she published a number of well-received poetic works. Raised initially in France, then in Guadeloupe, where her family moved after they were ruined by the French Revolution, little is known of her early life. Marceline took-up acting and singing to support herself following her mother's death from yellow fever, and earned good reviews in several European venues, including Rouen, Douai, the Theatre de la Monnaie, Brussels, and the Opera-Comique, Paris, gaining special note as Rosine in Beaumarchais' "Le Barbier de Seville". Continuing her theatrical work during the early stages of her literary career, she released her first volume of poetry, "Elegies et romances", in 1819. Having married her second husband, Prosper Lanchantin-Valmore, in 1817, she retired from acting in 1823 to devote herself to writing. Though her formal education had been limited, Marceline's talent was apparent, with her work both selling well and being lauded by critics. She was to pen a total of seven volumes, the last of her lifetime being "Bouquets et prieres" (1843), with a final "Poeses posthumes" being published in 1860. Marceline's friend Honore de Balzac used her as the model for the title character in his "La Cousine Bette"; today, a portion of her poetic output remains in print.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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