Sand, George

George, (1804-1876), the pen name of Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, a French author. She was born in Paris, but was brought up at the Chateau of Nohant. She was educated at a convent, and in 1822 was married to M. Dudevant. The marriage proved unhappy, and in 1831 Madame Dudevant left Nohant and went to Paris with Jules Sandeau in order to lead an independent life. She began her literary work in collaboration with Sandeau, and her pen name was an abbreviation of his name. Her first independent novel was Indiana. Others are Valentine, Leila, Lavina, Metella, Simon, La Comtesse de Rudolstadt, Horace, and Consuelo. Her earlier writings are filled with the spirit of revolt against moral and social conditions. Her later works contain studies of country life and manners. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of her career as an author is the rapidity with which she produced volume after volume for many years. She was at one time much occupied with theological and philosophical speculations. She also entertained republican ideas of an exaggerated nature, and her views of life were one-sided. Consuelo is her best known work. The reputation of George Sand was extraordinary in her own time; but her works no longer occupy the place they once filled in the world of literature.