Women are not supposed to write yet I write. Marceline Desbordes-ValmoreIn 1817, at the late age of thirty-three,Marceline Desbordes, the actress and Romantic poetthe only woman counted by Paul Verlaine among his poètes maudits, or accursed poets, a group that included Victor Hugo, Charles Baudelaire, and Alfred de Vignymarries Prosper Valmore, a fellow actor who brings love and stability to her tumultuous life. Such stability is short-lived, howeverWhen she meets Henri de Latouche, an influential man of letters, they soon begin a passionate affair. Although their tryst does not last more than a year, their relationship survives through letters and memory. It sparks inspiration in Marcelines work and leads her to create some of the most beautiful poetry in French literature.
