Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne de (c. 1695–1755)

French novelist . Name variations: Mme de Villeneuve; Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot Gallon de Villeneuve. Born around 1695; died in 1755; widowed around 1730.

Selected writings:

(novels) Le Phénix conjugal (The Phoenix of Marriage, 1733), La Jeune américane (The Young American, 1740–41), Le Beau-frère supposé (The Presumed Brother-in-Law, 1752), La Jardinière de Vincennes (The Gardener of Vincennes, 1753), Le Juge prévenu (The Biased Judge, 1754), Anecdotes de la cour d'Alphonse XI (Anecdotes from the Court of Alphonso XI, 1757), Mlles de Marsanges (1757), Le temps et la patience (Time and Patience, 1768); (play) Les belles solitaires (Lonely Beauties, 1745); (stories) Les Contes de cette année (This Year's Tales, 1744), Contes de Mme de Villeneuve (The Tales of Madame de Villeneuve, 1765).

Little is known of Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve's early life. Her career as a writer did not begin until she was widowed and left with an insufficiently small income. Living in Paris, Villeneuve supported herself by writing, producing over 12 volumes during the latter half of her life. She is credited with writing the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la bête, in vol. XXVI of Cabinet des fées). Both 1733's Le Phénix conjugal (The Phoenix of Marriage) and 1753's La Jardinière de Vincennes (The Gardener of Vincennes), the latter considered her best work, focus on the position of women in society, portraying lower-class women as empathetic, admirable heroines.

Paula Morris , D.Phil., Brooklyn, New York