author
Henry Gréville
1842–1902
A bestselling French novelist of the late 19th century, she wrote under a masculine pen name and drew readers in with stories shaped by her years in Russia. Her books were widely read in their day, especially for their lively portraits of society and family life.
6 Audiobooks
Ariadne
by Henry Gréville
Suzanne Normis: Roman d'un père
by Henry Gréville
L'expiation de Saveli
by Henry Gréville
The Little Russian Servant
by Henry Gréville
La Niania
by Henry Gréville
La fille de Dosia
by Henry Gréville
About the author
Born Alice Marie Céleste Fleury in Paris in 1842, Henry Gréville became known as a prolific French writer who published under a pen name. As a young woman she spent important years in St. Petersburg, where her father worked, and that experience gave her a strong knowledge of Russian language and society.
She later married Émile Durand, a French law professor in St. Petersburg, and returned to France in 1872. Writing as Henry Gréville, she built a remarkably successful literary career, producing novels, stories, and other works that often drew on Russian settings and social life. She was also recognized by the Académie française with a Montyon Prize.
Although she is less widely known today than some of her contemporaries, she was a major popular author in her own time. Her work appealed to readers through its clear storytelling, emotional conflicts, and sharp attention to the pressures of family, class, and everyday life.