Marguerite Yourcenar

Marguerite Yourcenar was a famous writer who loved words. She wrote many kinds of books, like novels and poems. She also wrote essays, which are short pieces of writing. People all over the world read her work. She was a very important voice in literature. Her writing helped people think about history and life.

Writing was a big part of her daily life. She spent many years working on her books. For example, she worked on one book for ten years. In 1937, she spent ten months translating a book called *The Waves*. Her most famous book, *Memoirs of Hadrian*, was written over a long time too. She used her skill to make old stories feel new. This book tells the story of a Roman emperor named Hadrian. He writes a long letter to his successor, Marcus Aurelius.

Yourcenar had a very interesting life journey. She was born in Brussels, Belgium, in 1903. Her full name was Marguerite Antoinette Jeanne Marie Ghislaine Cleenewerck de Crayencour. Her mother died just ten days after she was born. Because of this, she grew up with her grandmother. Later, she moved to the United States in 1939. She became a U.S. citizen in 1947. She used the name Yourcenar as her pen name for writing.

She earned many great prizes for her talent. She won the Prix Femina in 1968 for her book *The Abyss*. In 1980, she did something very special in France. She became the first woman elected to the Académie française. This is a famous group of writers that was mostly men. Even the bathroom signs changed to say "Messieurs | Marguerite Yourcenar." She also won the Erasmus Prize in 1983.

Many people remember her through the places she lived. For a long time, she lived in Maine. She lived on Mount Desert Island with her partner, Grace Frick. They lived in a house called Petite Plaisance. Now, that house is a museum where people can visit. You can see where she worked and lived. She is buried in Somesville, Maine. Her funeral plate has a beautiful message about the human heart.