A great figure in 19th century literary and Parisian life, the novelist George Sand wrote most of her texts in her castle in Nohant-Vic: a veritable country residence which was perhaps the greatest passion of this avant-garde artist.
A great figure in 19th century literary and Parisian life, the novelist George Sand wrote most of her texts in her castle in Nohant-Vic: a veritable country residence which was perhaps the greatest passion of this avant-garde artist.
Born in 1804, little Aurore Dupin was only 4 years old when she discovered the house in Nohant where her grandmother Marie Aurore, daughter of the famous Marshal of Saxony, lived. Very close to her granddaughter, she obtained custody of the estate on the death of her father and managed to pass on her passion for the Berry terroir and for this château, which she has occupied since 1793.
Married at a very young age to a certain Casimir Dudevant, with whom she had two children, Maurice and Solange, the young Aurore quickly developed a passion for writing and set up a work space in the house in which she wrote the novels that would make her famous under the name of George Sand. Remaining inseparable from her work, Nohant is a real anchor point that will enable her to go through many trials.
Officially divorced and devastated by her separation from the writer Alfred de Musset, George Sand regained full ownership of the house in 1837 and continued to write the most beautiful pages of her life.
In Nohant she likes to entertain. Managing to make this country house a real artistic and cultural home, she regularly receives her most illustrious friends: Honoré de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert, Alexandre Dumas fils, Franz Liszt, Eugène Delacroix. Sharing the life and heart of the mistress of the house for almost 9 years, Frédéric Chopin wrote a large part of his work there.
Guests regularly meet in the small theatre designed by George Sand. Everyone is invited to come on stage to try out the writer's new plays. Maurice, his son, also plays the puppets he spends a lot of time creating. In the evenings, we meet around a good dinner, we play music, sing, read and draw. Nohant was a real haven of peace for these Parisian artists.
Today, the house is as the writer left it. The many rooms open to visitors allow us to touch the intimacy of this great lady of literature. Nohant is the house of a lifetime: she spent her childhood there, raised her children, received her friends there and breathed her last on June 8, 1876.
Want to go there? The estate, managed by the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, is open to visitors and, as part of the Rendez-vous aux Jardins weekend organized by the French Ministry of Culture, is offering a number of events in the garden: plant swap, literary trail, recital, reading and garden walk with... Pauline Viardot, the star singer of the 19th century and the muse of the writer's close friends such as Alfred de Musset and Franz Liszt.
All the practical informations are here.
Bérengère for Comme des Français
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To extend the journey into the 19th century art world:
Photo credits : Pascal Lemaître and Philippe Berthé
