author
Claude Ferval
1856–1943
A French novelist, biographer, and poet writing under a pen name, she built a career around fiction and vivid portraits of historical women. Her books brought figures like Cleopatra, Ninon de Lenclos, and Madame du Châtelet to a broad reading public.
1 Audiobook
Cleopatra
by Claude Ferval
About the author
Born Marguerite Aimery Harty de Pierrebourg, née Thomas-Galline, in Agen on June 15, 1856, she published as Claude Ferval. She became known in France as a novelist, biographer, and poet, and her work was recognized by the Académie française.
After writing novels, she devoted much of her later career to biographical and historical works, often centered on notable women. Among the figures she wrote about were Cleopatra, Ninon de Lenclos, and Madame du Châtelet, showing a lasting interest in literary and historical lives.
She died in Herbault, in Loir-et-Cher, on April 20, 1943. Though not widely known today outside specialist circles, her books reflect a lively blend of storytelling and historical curiosity.