Reading Order
She and HeElle et Lui Reading Order
Elle et Lui (She and He, 1859) by George Sand is the roman à clef in which Sand finally told her version of her famous love affair with Alfred de Musset — a relationship that lasted from 1833 to 1835, destroyed both of them temporarily, and produced Musset's The Confession of a Child of the Century (1836), in which his version appeared first. The novel's publication, twenty-three years after the affair, was prompted by the death of Musset in 1857 and by the appearance of his brother Paul de Musset's roman à clef Lui et Elle (1859), which told the story from Alfred's perspective and portrayed Sand unflatteringly. Elle et Lui is Sand's response: her version of the same events, in which the male protagonist's genius is real but his selfishness, alcoholism, and creative dependency are the causes of the relationship's failure. The novel is important for several reasons: as a document in the most famous literary love affair of French Romanticism; as an analysis of the creative relationship between a woman artist and a male genius; and as an example of the nineteenth-century roman à clef at its most openly autobiographical.
Where to start
Elle et Lui (1859) — the novel is best read alongside or after Musset's The Confession of a Child of the Century (1836), which is Musset's fictionalized version of the same affair; reading both gives both sides of one of literary history's most documented relationships. The older English translation by George Burnham Ives (She and He, 1902) is in the public domain and available free online; a French edition is available in the Classiques Garnier series.
Complete She and He Book List
- 1Buy
Elle et Lui (She and He)
George Sand·1859·First published in La Revue de Paris, 1859. Written in response to Paul de Musset's Lui et Elle (1859), which portrayed Sand as the villainous version of the affair. Musset died in 1857, two years before Sand published her account.
She and He — Frequently Asked Questions
What really happened between George Sand and Alfred de Musset?
George Sand and Alfred de Musset met in 1833 at a dinner at the Revue des Deux Mondes and began an affair almost immediately; both were already famous — Sand had published Indiana (1832) and Musset was known as the most talented young poet of his generation. They traveled together to Venice in December 1833, where Musset fell seriously ill, and Sand began an affair with his doctor, Pietro Pagello, while nursing him — an episode that Musset experienced as betrayal and Sand as survival necessity. The affair continued intermittently until 1835, characterized by intense passion, mutual cruelty, Musset's alcoholism and what was probably bipolar disorder, and Sand's alternating maternal patience and authoritative independence. Musset published his version in The Confession of a Child of the Century (1836) — a fictionalization in which his own suffering is central and Sand appears as the faithless Brigitte; Sand published her version in Elle et Lui (1859), in which his genius is acknowledged but his selfishness and illness are the causes of the failure. Paul de Musset, Alfred's brother, immediately published Lui et Elle (1859) as a counter-attack. The letters between Sand and Musset, published in 1904, give the most direct documentary evidence, but all three novels are also primary documents in a love affair that both participants understood, from very early, as literary material.
Monthly Newsletter
Never miss a big release
Get the most anticipated upcoming books delivered to your inbox once a month — no spam, no filler.
Monthly only. Unsubscribe anytime.
Book links are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, BookReleaseRadar earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.