Story of My Life

"George Sand's Story of My Life is much more than the autobiography of an extraordinary woman, although it is surely also that. It is the story of a century of French history as lived through the experiences and fates of three generations, the tumultuous history of the birth of modern France and the transformation of a society.

"The translation of Sand's Story is excellent. Coordinated by Thelma Jurgrau, the group of translators has given us a direct sense of the text: its flow, its variety, its quality. This is an unusual feat and a felicitous outcome. For Sand's Story of My Life, beyond the variety and wealth of its content, is a delight to read, a literary creation that had too long been overlooked. The publication of this translation is an event of considerable importance. Bringing as it does a new dimension to our view of the continuity of the period beneath the disruptions, it should also delight a larger literate reading public, sensitive to the human resonance of Sand's narrative." — Germaine Brée, Kenan Professor Emerita of the Humanities, Wake Forest University

"George Sand's monumental autobiography ranks among her most original and powerful works. Besides offering a sweeping and lively tableau of French society from the last decades of the Old Regime until the middle of the nineteenth century, she recounts her own saga with great gusto and unflinching honesty, and without any kind of self-pity.

"This splendid translation is the first of the original text in its entirety. It is indeed a landmark achievement. It manages the feat of being both scrupulously faithful to the original as well as highly readable. A rich scholarly apparatus further enhances the text in light of the most recent historical, literary, and feminist criticism. It is a labor of love carried out in an exemplary spirit of collaboration by a dedicated group of scholars from both sides of the Atlantic, admirably coordinated and edited by Thelma Jurgrau." — Gita May, Professor and Chair, French Department, Columbia University

"I think that [Sand's autobiography] and perhaps also a one-volume selection from her admirable Correspondence are the works of George Sand which fully do her justice and deserve to be placed within the reach of the English-speaking public." — Henri Peyre