Mme Clairon, the Haunted Actress and Her Tragic Lover

It is extraordinary how Elizabeth Craven seemed to get to meet all the most famous, or in some cases, infamous, people of her time. The French actress Hyppolite Clairon is another example. Craven knew her well -  only too well as at one time they were rivals for the same man.

Born Claire Josèphe Hyppolite Leris, into a humble family, the actress's performances in classical tragedy created a storm of success from the very first time she appeared at the Comédie Francaise. She excelled at performing the lead roles in the plays of Racine, Corneille and Voltaire. Voltaire was living in Paris at the time and became one of her most ardent admirers. She adapted her first name into a stage name "Clairon" which means a clarion call, very suitable for someone who was not shy of the limelight!

         In her old age she published her Memoirs, which included the singular story of how she had been haunted by the ghost of a disappointed lover. The story was already well known to those who were closely acquainted with her  - including Elizabeth Craven. 

The young man had committed suicide because she had spurned him in favour of other more exalted admirers.
But who was Clairon's favoured suitor, and how did it transpire that she and Elizabeth Craven became rivals in a tug-of-love?

To find out more about Elizabeth Craven, her life, her writings, her loves and her scandals, read

Elizabeth Craven: Writer, Feminist and European

by Julia Gasper

published by Vernon Press.

https://vernonpress.com/title?id=334

23 Jun 2017 - Elizabeth Craven's fascinating life was full of travel, love-affairs and scandals but this biography, the first to appear for a century, is the only one ...