Victoire Léodile Béra

Victoire Léodile Béra (18 August 1824 – 20 May 1900) was a French novelist, journalist and feminist. She took the name of André Léo, her two twin sons' names.

She was born in Lusignan, Vienne, at Town Hall square, in 1824. She stayed there until 1830, when her father moved to Champagné-Saint-Hilaire, where he was a judge. She left the region in 1851 for Lausanne in Switzerland, where she married Grégoire Champseix, who had been there since the spring of 1849 after fleeing repression due to his contribution to the 1848 revolution and later from the police of Napoleon III.

In 1866 a feminist group called the Société pour la Revendication du Droit des Femmes began to meet at the house of André Léo in Paris. Members included Paule Minck, Louise Michel, Eliska Vincent, Élie Reclus and his wife Noémie, Mme Jules Simon and Caroline de Barrau. Maria Deraismes also participated. Because of the broad range of opinions, the group decided to focus on the subject of improving girls' education.^[1]

André Léo fought with the French Republicans, later during the Commune de Paris, and in the International Workers Association. Travelling in Europe, she studied and worked at improving the feminine condition of her times. She died in Paris in 1900, after completing numerous novels, tales and essays, articles and political texts. Her writings, especially on social and educational issues, express ideas which still remain highly topical.^{[according to whom?]}

The Passerelle André-Léo [fr] (André-Léo footbridge) in Paris' 12th arrondissement is named after her.

References

Sources

• McMillan, James F. (2002-01-08). France and Women, 1789-1914: Gender, Society and Politics. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-58957-9. Retrieved 2014-10-23.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to André Léo.

• Site of Association André Léo
• Works by André Léo at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about André Léo at Internet Archive

This page was last edited on 17 February 2024, at 07:58