A Political Romance Also by Susan K

A Political Romance Also by Susan K. Foley WOMEN IN FRANCE SINCE 1789: the Meanings of Difference under the name Susan K. Grogan FLORA TRISTAN: Life Stories FRENCH SOCIALISM AND SEXUAL DIFFERENCE: Women and the New Society, 1803–44

Also by Charles Sowerwine FRANCE SINCE 1870: Culture, Society and the Making of the Republic SISTERS OR CITIZENS? Women and Socialism in France Since 1876 MADELEINE PELLETIER: Une Féministe dans L’Arène politique (with Claude Maignien) A Political Romance Léon Gambetta, Léonie Léon and the Making of the French Republic, 1872–82

Susan K. Foley and Charles Sowerwine © Susan K. Foley and Charles Sowerwine 2012 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2012 978-0-230-20686-1 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2012 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-30248-2 ISBN 978-0-230-36948-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230369481 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 For Niamh Orvis Ned Mabel and others still to come This page intentionally left blank Contents

List of Illustrations viii List of Maps ix Preface xi

Introduction: ‘What admirable pages!’ 3

Part I Years of Hope, 1872–1877 1 ‘The unforgettable day of 27 April’ 11 2 ‘I want you to devote yourself to the Republic’ 29 3 ‘Thank you for being my strength, my hope’ 53 4 ‘I am smiling at your triumph, at our love’ 73

Part II A Bourgeois Couple in the Third Republic 5 ‘We’ll go and laugh at the Palais-Royal’ 97 6 ‘We will proudly put our heads together in books’ 119 7 ‘This religion satisfies my soul’ 139

Part III Years of Frustration, 1877–1882 8 ‘What glory, to have created a new France’ 159 9 ‘Triumphant, and full of regrets’ 177 10 ‘Poor France, I had other dreams’ 201 11 ‘People are weeping for the patriot, the orator’ 225

Epilogue: ‘The writings remain’ 249

Notes 255 Index 300

vii List of Illustrations

1.1 Léonie Léon: sole known photograph, 1872: Centre d’histoire de Sciences Po, Paris, Fonds Pillias, 2 EP I Dr3 13 1.2 Léonie Léon: pencil drawing by J. Coraboeuf, 1907, after the 1872 photo: © Centre des monuments nationaux (France) / Philippe Berthé 14 1.3 Léon Gambetta: the young republican, c.1868: Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris; Roger-Viollet 16 1.4 7, rue Bonaparte, Paris: Léon’s apartment, 2010: photo by the authors 22 5.1 Les Jardies: Gambetta and Léon’s country house (Edmond Marie Petitjean, Les Jardies, maison de Gambetta à Sèvres, oil on canvas, 10 January 1884): Collection Musée de l’Île-de-France, Sceaux. Photo: Pascal Lemaître 114 6.1 Les Jardies: Gambetta’s study, c.1884 ([Sèvres: Les Jardies: pavillon], photo, black & white, Collection Musée de l’Île-de-France, Sceaux) 128 9.1 Léon Gambetta: the statesman, c.1880: Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris; Roger-Viollet 181

viii List of Maps

1 Paris c.1880 xv 2 France c.1880 xvi

ix This page intentionally left blank Preface

Generations of French schoolchildren remember Léon Gambetta for one exploit: in 1870, he escaped the Prussian siege of Paris in a hot-air balloon, landed near Tours, and raised a fresh army 100,000 strong. Some also remember him for the pivotal role he then played in obtain- ing passage of a republican constitution, and in bringing the vast majority to accept the Republic as the framework within which to pursue their vision for France. Many works treat Gambetta’s role in political history. This book takes another approach, focusing on the romance between Gambetta and Léonie Léon, the partnership which lay behind his political accomplishments. Léonie Léon was Gambetta’s lover and confidante throughout his campaign for the Republic, from 1872 until his untimely death in 1882. Their romance was based not only on the passion each felt for the other, but also on the passion each felt for politics and for the Republic. Indeed, the Republic was almost a third party in their relationship. Early in their liaison, Léon wrote to Gambetta: ‘I want you to devote yourself completely to this Republic, your goddess, whose supremacy in your heart I accept’; her goal, she went on, would be ‘to equal her in your affections’. 1 Theirs was not only a passionate affair but also a political relationship between two people who were committed to the Republic; it was a political romance. This romance has been neglected, but it is significant in French history. Gambetta and, through this romance, Léon, played a key role in what Sanford Elwitt called the ‘making’ of the French Republic.2 Gambetta does not now enjoy the reputation of a founding father, like George Washington or Simon Bolivar. Yet it was Gambetta who effected the compromises which ensured passage of the Constitution of 1875, providing a framework within which the Republic grew and put down deep roots, and it was Gambetta who articulated a vision of the Republic and brought the vast majority of the French to accept the Republic as the framework within which to work for their vision of France. Before 1875, every major change in that vision had been realized through a change of regime; no regime had lasted more than twenty years. Since 1875, France has never ceased to be a Republic, with the exception of the Vichy Regime, brought to power with German victory in 1940 and driven from power with German defeat in 1944. To be sure,

xi xii Preface

Gambetta did not found the Third Republic single-handedly. Indeed, the very question of whether individuals really make history or simply ride its shifting tides is hotly debated. But individuals are still required and Gambetta was the individual whose acts made the Republic, how- ever much one may argue that the society and the polity were already moving that way.3 This book studies Gambetta and Léon’s romantic and political partnership, using their extensive correspondence. They wrote nearly every day during the ten years of their liaison. Gambetta confided in his ‘Minerva’ and she provided knowledgeable and forthright counsel. Their correspondence brings to light a dialogue which enabled Gambetta to nurture his spirit, clarify his thoughts, and decide his actions. It dis- closes to us a partnership strongly marked by the gender structures of their society and thus allows us to probe the impact of those structures upon individuals. It also offers a vantage point for situating this couple in Parisian life and culture of the 1870s, opening a window onto the leisure pursuits and the intellectual and artistic issues which interested the educated bourgeoisie. Both Gambetta and Léon wrote beautiful love letters, distinguished by soaring, passionate prose. The letters reveal Léonie Léon, the oth- erwise unknown figure who was Gambetta’s intimate partner in love and politics, and they document her key role in Gambetta’s life and political thinking. The letters reveal Léon Gambetta, the man behind the politician, and they offer a much deeper, warmer figure than do the standard biographies. We learn of his hesitations, uncertainties, and insecurities, as well as of his profound commitment to the Republic. We discover a principled man, who compromised in seeking to realize his project, to build the Republic, but who never lost sight of his goal. And the letters reveal how his participation in a deeply loving relationship with Léon – the only truly intimate relationship among his many friendships – enabled him to navigate the often choppy political seas. Some of Gambetta’s letters to Léon were published in a 1938 collection of his correspondence, but most of his and all of her letters – 1076 in all – remain unpublished and largely ignored. Professor Françoise Gaspard brought this unpublished correspondence to our attention. Having been a Deputy during President Mitterrand’s first term (1981–8), she was involved in the state’s purchase, in 1984, of a set of Gambetta’s letters to Léon. The collection of which that set forms a part is now held in the Bibliothèque de l’Assemblée Nationale. While other writers have made some use of these letters to illuminate Gambetta’s career, this book makes the letters its inspiration and the romance its keystone. Preface xiii

We hope that the letters and their authors may engage others as they have engaged us.

Many people helped us in the writing of this book. We are particularly grateful to Professor Françoise Gaspard, to whom we owe our encounter with the letters. We thank M. Fabrice Costa, Director of the Bibliothèque de l’Assemblée Nationale, who graciously gave us permission to copy and use the letters. We give special thanks to Mme Catherine Déalberto, his assistant, who went beyond the call of duty, supporting our endeav- our in every way, explaining the intricacies of the collection, and find- ing new materials for us. Her support made this project possible. We also thank Mme Dominique Parcollet, Archivist at Sciences Po, for her help with the Archives of Émile Pillias. Many friends and colleagues have given generous assistance and we thank them sincerely. M. Thierry Dumanoir, curator of les Jardies, the couple’s country home, threw open the house and facilitated our research. His wife, Mme Nicole Zucca, a fellow researcher into Léon’s life and writings, generously supported and encouraged our project, enabling us to visit Léon’s apartment and its balcony overlooking the gardens she tended with Gambetta. We remain in their debt. David Garrioch, Catherine Kovesi, Charlotte Macdonald, Véronique Magnol-Malhache, Jean-Yves Mollier, Val Noone, Kerry Murphy, Sabina Ratner, Sîan Reynolds, and Jean-Claude Yon shared their professional expertise with us, and their help has enriched the book. Our friends in the Melbourne Life Writing Group read drafts and made many valuable suggestions. Dr Barbara Burge assisted us on medical questions. Alice Garner, Julie Kalman and James Cannon gave substantial help in the research for this book. Chandra Jayasuriya prepared the maps. We acknowledge a grant from the Australian Research Council, which made possible such wonderful research support. Christine Ranft’s editorial work was thorough, careful and conscien- tious. We are very grateful to her. We were continually heartened by the patient support of our editors at Palgrave Macmillan, Michael Strang and Ruth Ireland, even when the project stalled. May this book justify their patience.

Susan K. Foley Charles Sowerwine Melbourne, October 2011 academies) Collège Sainte-Barbe Institut de France (seat of Académie française and other Comédie-française (Théâtre français) Opéra (Palais Garnier) Opéra-Comique Théâtre du Gymnase de la Gaïté) (later Théâtre-Lyrique Théâtre-Lyrique Théâtre du Palais-Royal Théâtre des Variétés Théâtre du Vaudeville Arsenal Museum Cluny Museum (now of the Middle Ages) Grands Magasins du Louvre (Louvre Department Store) Palais Royal Panthéon of Saint Augustine Church Maison Dorée (restaurant) Places of interest to Léon and Gambetta 10 11 Theatres Léon and Gambetta frequented 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 5, rue Bréa: Léon family’s first Parisian residence 5, rue Bréa: Léon family’s Parisian 7, rue Bonaparte: Léonie and Émilie Léon’s apartment for receiving male visitors Paris residence 12, ave Montaigne: Gambetta’s until 1876 residence from 14, rue Soufflot: Léon family’s 1879 apart- 53, rue de la Chaussée-d’Antin: Gambetta’s ment 1876–8, adjoining office of La République française residence 57, rue Saint-Didier: Gambetta’s 1881–2 home after Gambetta’s 2, ave Perrichont; Léon’s death Hôtel du Ministre des Affaires étrangères (quai d’Orsay): Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gambetta’s 1881–Jan. residence during his ministry Nov. 1882 res- Palais Bourbon/Hôtel de Lassay: Gambetta’s idence during his tenure as President of the Chamber 1879–81

Residences of Léon Gambetta and Léonie Léon 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Key

xiv xv c .1880: sites mentioned in the text Paris Map 1 xvi

Map 2 France c.1880: Localities mentioned in the text