Marguerite Yourcenar

Marguerite Yourcenar (1903–1987) was a Belgian-born novelist, essayist, and short-story writer who became the first woman elected to the Académie Française. Educated in French Flanders, she traveled extensively before permanently settling in the United States and establishing her home, Petite Plaisance, in Northeast Harbor, Maine, in 1950. Her literary works, known for their classical style and psychological depth, often reimagine historical figures and eras, with Memoirs of Hadrian (1951) and The Abyss (1968) among her most acclaimed novels.