Henry Gréville: behind this male pseudonym hides Alice Marie Céleste Durand (née Fleury, 1842-1902), a bold French novelist who marked her era with social and psychological novels of astonishing modernity.
A woman forced to hide behind a man's name
Like George Sand, George Eliot, or the Brontë sisters, Alice Durand had to adopt a male pseudonym to be taken seriously in the 19th-century literary world. At a time when women authors were systematically relegated to "sentimental literature," Henry Gréville managed to impose her voice by addressing social, political, and psychological themes with remarkable depth.
Her success was immense: translated throughout Europe, read by thousands of readers, she was one of the most popular novelists of her time. Yet today, her name is largely forgotten – like so many women authors erased from literary history.
Dosia: a feminist social and historical novel ahead of its time
Dosia is much more than a simple historical novel. It is a work that explores social tensions, power relations, and the condition of women in 19th-century society with a lucidity and sensitivity that still resonate today.
Henry Gréville displays her talent for:
- Female psychological portraits: her heroines are complex, intelligent, confronted with the constraints of a patriarchal society
- Social critique: she denounces class injustices, arranged marriages, bourgeois hypocrisy
- A progressive vision: her novels advocate for women's education, their intellectual and moral autonomy
Before the word "feminism" was widely used, Henry Gréville was already writing novels that questioned the place of women in society and denounced the structures that oppressed them.
Why read Dosia today?
Rediscovering Dosia means:
- Paying tribute to an unjustly forgotten author
- Discovering a social and historical novel of great subtlety
- Understanding the struggles of 19th-century women through captivating fiction
- Appreciating elegant writing and a subtle psychological plot
📖 Download the free excerpt to discover Henry Gréville’s world.
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Digital novel available for €9.99 • Immediate download
Metvox Publications is committed to rediscovering forgotten authors in literary history, especially female voices that have been marginalized or erased.