INTRODUCTION. VU

year in Paris. As her income was limited, and she was very careful not to infringe on the inheritance of her cMldren, she was obliged to find some way of earning money.

She had often, as a pastime, written stories, but it did not at first occur to her that this was a talent to be turned to her purpose. She tried her hand at varions arts, — portraits in crayon and in water color, the painting of flowers and birds on cigar-cases and snuff -boxes. But thèse décorations soon passed ont of fashion, and Mme. Dudevant must seek some other means of support.

She began by writing, without much success, articles for the Figaro ; that paper had been bought by Delatouche, one of a little band of f riends f rom Berry that had gathered around her, and one toward whom, in the story of her life, she expresses much gratitude. In the same office, there was a talented young man, Jules Sandeau, whom she had also known in Berry.

Mme. Dudevant had amused herself at Nohant by writing. She says of her first attempt at a novel : " I sketched a sort of romance that never saw the light ; when I read it over, I was convinced that it was not good, but that I was capable of writing one that would not be so bad."

In collaboration with Jules Sandeau she wrote for a periodical a story that appeared under the signature "Jules Sand." This was so well received that the publishers demanded and obtained f rom them another romance, to be brought ont under the same pseudonym. Aftér this, Jules Sandeau, reccgnizing the genius of his friend, refused to take the crédit of the next book. Although he aided in preparing this for the press, it was signed George Sand, the publishers having insisted on retaining the last name.

From this time George Sand worked alone, and her prolific pen produced no less than eighty novels, twenty plays, and numberless articles on social, religions, and political questions.

Vm INTRODUCTION.

When her daughter, Solange, was about eight years old, Mme. Dudevant was legally separated from her husband, and by the terms of the séparation was allowed to keep her cbildren. She was a passionately devoted mother, and Maurice, her son, especially, seemed to hâve returned her dévotion. With the exception of several journeys to Italy and Switzerland^ her time was henceforth principally divided between Paris and Nohant.

Her first novel was published in 1832, and after that a rapid succession of works flowed from her pen as long as she lived.

Her Works may be divided into three i)eriods. In the first romance and passion predominate. In the second we find her promulgating socialistic or démocratie théories; and musical and mystical fancies as in "Consuelo" and the "Countess of Rudolstadt." After the révolution of 1848, having returned to Nohant, she found it a relief to turn her mind from the excitement and turmoil rife in Paris to the quiet scènes of the country.

She set herself to portraying the life and customs of the peasants, and produced then her best works. "François le Champi," the "Mare au Diable," and "La petite Fadette," are her masterpieces in this kind.

In 1854 she published the story of her early life, "Histoire de ma Vie," in thirteen volumes. The number sounds formidable, but the volumes are small, and the fréquent digressions are as interesting as the narrative.

The best of her dramas is the "Marquis de Villemer," dramatîzed from her novel of the same name. But her peculiar genius made her less successful as dramatist than as story-teller ; she had a wonderful gift for narration.

In her novels she does not confine herself to depicting any one class. She gives us însight into ail the infinité complexity of society. With equal ease and truth she introduces us into the boudoir of the Marchioness de Villemer, or into the factory life in the Ville-Noire.