Zénaïde Fleuriot (1829–1890)

Zénaïde Fleuriot was born in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany to a large, devout Roman Catholic and Royalist family. Her father Jean-Marie Fleuriot fought in the Battle of Austerlitz in 1802, and after leaving the army, became a lawyer. He lost all his money in the aftermath of the July 1830 Revolution that overthrew King Charles X. Zénaïde went to work as a governess to the children of a family in Kerever, staying in Saint-Brieuc during the winter. During these 17 years she wrote novels at night. She published the first one, "Les souvenirs d'une douairière," in 1859, and went on to publish about 80 more, mostly aimed at young women. Her books were deeply conservative and appealed to the French middle-class. Many became bestsellers, bringing her fame and financial independence. In 1873, she bought a large estate in the seaside town of Locmariaquer with a view of the Gulf of Morbihan, and built a house there that she named "Kermoareb" ("my aunt's house" in the Breton language). Here she wrote some of her best-known novels. She also wrote essays under the pen names Anna Edianez and Anna Edianez de Saint-B. She also contributed stories to the periodicals for young people Journal des demoiselles et la Mode illustrée, Le Journal de la jeunesse, and La Bibliothèque rose. From 1874 to 1879, she edited the journal la Semaine des familles. Her 1873 novel Aigles et colombes won a prize from the Académie française. In 1871 she founded and later directed a vocational school for youth in Brittany.