Catherine Lefebvre
Catherine Lefebvre (* 2. February 1753 in Goldbach-Altenbach , Haut-Rhin as Catherine Pretty ; † 29. December 1835 in Paris ) was one of the Alsace native washerwoman that the through marriage society managed to rise and by her husband the title "Duchess of Danzig" received. She became known as Madame Sans-Gêne (French = without embarrassment ) through the play of the same name by Victorien Sardou .
Life
Catherine Hübscher came from a humble background and earned her living as a laundress in Saint-Amarin and Oderen . On March 1, 1783, she married François-Joseph Lefebvre (1755-1820), son of a police sergeant at Rouffach in Alsace. Their marriage resulted in fourteen children, only one of whom reached adulthood.
Her husband supported Napoléon Bonaparte in the coup d'état of 18th Brumaire VIII - Madame Lefebvre rose as the wife of the Napoleonic General in Paris society. In 1800 the First Consul of the French Republic and then Emperor of the French until 1814 became aware of Madame Lefebvre - her charm and wit enchanted him. Perhaps it was also important to him that she was not interested in politics and avoided court intrigues. But she mistrusted Joséphine de Beauharnais and Caroline Bonaparte , with whom she had had a bitter rivalry for years.
Madame Lefebvre died on 29 December 1835 at the age of 82 years at a cancer and was at the Paris cemetery Pere Lachaise buried. She was very popular and popular with the French people - because she had never forgotten her origins and was also committed to the social needs of the people.
Filmography
- 1911 Madame Sans-Gêne (The Casual Lady) - Directed by André Calmettes and Henri Desfontaines
- 1925 Madame Sans-Gêne - directed by Léonce Perret
- 1941 Madame Sans-Gêne - Director: Roger Richebé
- 1961 Madame Sans-Gêne - Director: Christian-Jaque
- 2002 Madame Sans-Gêne - Director: Philippe de Broca
Opera
- Umberto Giordano , Madame Sans-Gêne (first performance in New York 1915, German premiere in Breslau 1930)
literature
- Christophe Nagyos: Madame Sans-Gêne. Une femme du peuple à la cour de Napoléon . La Nuée Bleue, Strasbourg 2001, ISBN 2-7165-0458-X .
- Victorien Sardou : Madame Sans Gene. Historical romance of the revolution; the consulate and the empire . Kessinger Publishing, Kila, Mt. 2005, ISBN 1-4179-3654-1 .
Remarks
- ↑ Meyer's Large Conversation Lexicon (1905)
- ^ Joseph Wirth: Le maréchal Lefebvre, duc de Dantzig, 1755-1820 (1904, reprint 2010)
- ↑ Christophe Nagyos: Madame Sans-Gêne , Nuée Bleue, Strasbourg (2001)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Lefebvre, Catherine |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Handsome, Catherine; Madame Sans-Gêne; Catherine Hubscher; Maréchale Lefèbvre Duchesse de Dantzig |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Duchess of Gdansk |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 2, 1753 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Goldbach-Altenbach , Haut-Rhin department |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 29, 1835 |
| Place of death | Paris |