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Marie Duplessis

French courtesan who inspired Dumas's Lady of the Camellias.

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Marie Duplessis, born Alphonsine Rose Plessis, was a French courtesan who died of tuberculosis at age 23 in 1847.[1][2] She inspired the character Marguerite Gautier in Alexandre Dumas fils's 1848 novel La Dame aux Camélias.[1][2] Her life also led to Giuseppe Verdi's 1853 opera La traviata.[3][4]

Key facts and history

Marie Duplessis was born on 15 January 1824 in Nonant-le-Pin, Normandy, to Marin Plessis and Marie Deshayes.[5][4] By age 16 she realized prominent men would pay for her company.[6] She became a courtesan, learned to read and write, and added "Du" to her name.[6] She was briefly married to Count Édouard de Perregaux.[7]

Her possessions were sold at auction shortly after her death to settle her debts.[8]

What the cited sources add

A Guardian article reports that Charles Dickens attended her funeral and commented on the general sadness.[2] The same article states Dumas's affair with Duplessis was an open secret in Paris.[2] A Royal Opera House account notes that Duplessis was refined, brilliant, and precocious.[4] A BBC News piece describes her as one of the most socially accomplished women of her day.[9]

That memoir, written by her childhood friend Romain Vienne, was titled La Vérité sur la dame aux camélias and aimed to correct the fictionalized accounts of her life.[4][10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Marie Duplessis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gardner, "The reality behind the myth of Camille", the Guardian, 5 March 2003; Predota, "Redemption through Consumption!Liszt and Marie Duplessis : Interlude.hk", Interlude, 24 October 2012; Gardner, "The reality behind the myth of Camille", the Guardian, 5 March 2003; Maria Nockin "The Real Traviata" ("Pro Opera", English translation) (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Gardner, "The reality behind the myth of Camille", the Guardian, 5 March 2003. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
  3. Wikipedia, "Marie Duplessis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gardner, "The reality behind the myth of Camille", the Guardian, 5 March 2003; Predota, "Redemption through Consumption!Liszt and Marie Duplessis : Interlude.hk", Interlude, 24 October 2012 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Weis, "The Real Traviata: The tragic true story that inspired La traviata", Royal Opera House, 15 January 2016. facts only, no text reused. roh.org.uk
  5. Wikipedia, "Marie Duplessis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Weber, "'The Girl Who Loved Camellias,' by Julie Kavanagh", The New York Times, 19 July 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Marie Duplessis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "La Dame aux Camelias: The Tragedy of Marie Duplessis", Persephone Magazine, 9 April 2013; Weis, "The Real Traviata: The tragic true story that inspired La traviata", Royal Opera House, 15 January 2016 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Marie Duplessis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Predota, "Redemption through Consumption!Liszt and Marie Duplessis : Interlude.hk", Interlude, 24 October 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Marie Duplessis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "La Dame aux Camelias: The Tragedy of Marie Duplessis", Persephone Magazine, 9 April 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. "Belle de Jour and the myth of the happy hooker", BBC News, 20 November 2009. facts only, no text reused. news.bbc.co.uk
  10. Wikipedia, "Marie Duplessis" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Royal Opera House Programme note to Traviata, 2019, p12 by Prof Rene Weis (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Marie Duplessis (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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