Yesterday I had the opportunity, at the last moment, to go on a guided tour of Père Lachaise cemetery. I know the cemetery quite well, but have never been on a tour of any sort. The theme was 'literature' and it was quite fascinating. We looked at graves and learned about the lives of various famous authors and poets, including Proust, Colette, Balzac, Jules Romains, Jules Michelet, Gérard de Nerval, Apollinaire and Oscar Wilde.
This tomb caught my eye though, both because of the way it looked, covered in a light moss, but also because of the character of the woman. Daniel Stern or Marie d'Agoult.
Marie was born in Germany where she spent her early years and afterwards completed her education in a French convent.
She then entered into a marriage of convenience with the Comte d'Agoult thereby becoming the Comtesse d'Agoult. They were later divorced.
From 1835 to 1839, she lived with pianist and composer Franz Liszt, who was six years younger, and was then a rising star. She became close to Liszt's circle of friends, including Frédéric Chopin, who dedicated his 12 Études, Op. 25 to her. She had three children with Liszt; however, they never married.
Her best known work was 'Histoire de la Révolution de 1848' (appearing from 1850–53), written under the pen name of 'Daniel Stern'.
So, for her time, she was quite a lady! Married, divorced and she had 3 children out of wedlock to Franz Liszt!
I think the light moss almost looks as if it has been sprayed on. It's definitely out of the ordinary and I can see why it caught your eye. She certainly had an interesting life! Thank you for all the background information in your narrative. :-)
