Lelia the Life of George Sand

Andre Maurois has great esteem for George Sand (the "nomme de plume" of Aurore Dupin de Dudevant), which he eloquently manifests in his biography of the great literary heroine of 19th Century France. I have been an avid fanatic of Madame Sand for quite a while, having read many of her novels (she was incredibly prolific, and so it must take many more years than the 25 which I have thus lived to read her entire oeuvre), as well as several biographies written about her. I read her "Histoire de Ma Vie" ("Story of My Life") a couple of years ago, for an Independent Study I was conducting during my years as an undergraduate, and I was absolutely fascinated by her life and her spirit, which she manifested in her novels. She led a life which many of her contemporaries considered "depraved," yet she always lived fearlessly and emotionally, according to her own inclinations and heart ("Never fear when your heart tells you what to do. . . the heart can never be wrong," she once wrote). I picked up Maurois' biography on George Sand recently, and I devoured it in a matter of days. His approach and style is somewhat antiquated (he wrote this book in the 50's, after all), but he nevertheless seems to have an uncanny understanding of Sand's life and ideas. I highly recommend his biography to anyone who is not too acquainted with Sand or her writings, but for the true Sand afficionado, I suggest that he or she read her autobiography before Maurois' biography. After all, who is most entitled and prepared to speak about her own life than Sand herself? Nevertheless, Maurois has written a good and thorough account of Sand's life. It is not one of those most commendable biographies, in which the reader believes that the writer must have known his or her subject personally, but it is a solid account of Sand's life, regardless. Although Maurois holds George Sand in high regard, he is not biased in his opinions regarding the authoress. . . in fact, at times he almost seems to pass judgement regarding her chaotic lifestyle and her tumultous liaisons. For example, he portrays De Musset as more of a victim of Sand's indiscretions (her affair with the doctor who sought to cure De Musset of his infirmities, for example), than his own penchant for a life of debauchery. I would not go so far as to proclaim that Maurois is sexist, but he does seem, at times, to allow more liberties to the men in Sand's life than he does to Sand herself. He sometimes depicts Sand as a sort of vampiress, who devours her male counterparts, while seemingly disregarding their own vices. Sand had a few jilted lovers, yes, but she too was wounded in several romantic liaisons. Nevertheless, and in summary, Maurois renders a pretty accurate portrait of George Sand, which will surely inspire the reader to learn more about this fascinating and mysterious author, truly so far ahead of her time. . . George Sand lived the sort of life, both as a woman and as an artist, which was not generally not