Cimetière de Montmartre (continued): #8: Marceline Desbordes-Valmore

'MARCELINE

DESBORDES-VALMORE

FEMME DE LETTRES

DOUAI 1786 PARIS 1859'

Marceline Desbordes-Valmore's grave is one of the most impressive in the entire cemetery. But who was she? She wrote a great number of poems, many of which have been set to music. Her first collection of poems, Élégies et Romances, was published in 1819, although her most significant works were Élégies et poésies nouvelles (1824), Les Pleurs (1833), Pauvres fleurs (1839) and Bouquets et Prières (1843). She also wrote short stories and tales for children, and was awarded a royal pension and several academic acknowledgements. She was admired by Balzac and Verlaine, and wrote her autobiography L'Atelier d'un peintre in 1833.