Albano's Daughter

Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin was born on the 1st July, 1804, in Paris, France, to an unconventional family who were from different classes—her father being from noble lineage whilst her mother from rather more modest origins. Following her father’s early death, Sand was raised by her aristocratic grandmother at the family estate in Nohant, which she later inherited at 17. The house and surrounding countryside was a profound influence on her writing which often highlighted pastoral themes and the natural world, particularly in her later, possibly most critically, acclaimed novels. Sand’s life and writings were unconventional and very progressive. At the age of 18, she married Baron Casimir Dudevant, with whom she had two children. However, the marriage was unhappy, and Sand left in 1831, moving to Paris to pursue her literary ambitions. This point also marked her adoption of the pseudonym ‘George Sand’ to help her in the male dominated world of publishing. Her first major novel was ‘Ind