Best known for her role in the Paris Commune, André Léo was a prolific feminist and socialist writer of the second half of the nineteenth century. Born on August 18, 1824 in Lusignan in the Poitou-Charentes region of France, Victoire Léodile Béra spent most of her formative years in a village near Poitiers where her father practiced law and served as a Justice of the Peace. Though little is known about her childhood or her formal education, it is clear that she had some access to an intellectual milieu thanks to her father’s progressive entourage. Both her father and grandfather were Freemasons. According to Roger Picard, Léodile frequently accompanied her father to political meetings in Poitiers where she was exposed to …
2579 words
Citation: Beach, Cecilia. "André Léo". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 May 2016 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13718, accessed 21 November 2024.]
