Gabrielle-Anna-Cisterne de Courtiras, Vicomtesse de Saint-Mars (2 August 1804, Poitiers

Poitiers

Poitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and of the Poitou-Charentes region. The centre is picturesque and its streets are interesting for predominant remains of historical architecture, especially from the Romanesque...

 - 11 September 1872), nom de plume Countess Dash, was a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 writer.

Biography

She was a daughter of M. de Courteras, and early married the Marquis de St. Mars. After the loss of her fortune, she took to writing. On her remarking that she wished to write under an assumed name, that of her favorite dog, “Dash,” was suggested, which she adopted.

In many years, she produced five to six novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

s. Her themes are mainly from the beau monde and deal with the travails of love

Love

Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...

.

Works

• Le jeu de la reine, her first work (1839)
• Les amours de Bussy-Rabutin (1850)
• La pomme d'Eve (1853)
• La belle aux yeux d'or (1860)
• Les galanteries de la cour de Louis XV (1861)
• La sorcière du roi (1861)
• Le nain du diable (1862)
• Les derniers amours de Mme. Dubarry (1864)
• La bague empoisonnée (1866)
• Comment tombent les femmes (1867)
• Les aventures d'une jeune mariée (1870)

A collection of her works was published in 1864, in 34 volumes.