Poet Charles Baudelaire was a contemporary critic of George Sand: "She is stupid, heavy and garrulous. Her ideas on morals have the same depth of judgment and delicacy of feeling as those of janitresses and kept women... The fact that there are men who could become enamoured of this slut is indeed a proof of the abasement of the men of this generation."
Sand had affairs with several men. Some lasted longer, others shorter. These men included Jules Sandeau (1831), Prosper Mérimée, Alfred de Musset (summer 1833 – March 1834), Louis-Chrystosome Michel, Charles Didier, Pierre-François Bocage, Félicien Mallefille and Frédéric Chopin (1837–47).
Later in life, she wrote letters to Gustave Flaubert. Despite their obvious differences in temperament and aesthetic preference, they eventually became good friends.
She was engaged in an intimate friendship with actress Marie Dorval, which led to widespread but unconfirmed rumors of a lesbian affair.
In Majorca one can still visit the (then abandoned) Carthusian monastery of Valldemossa, where she spent the winter of 1838–39 with Chopin and her children. This trip to Majorca was described by her in "Un Hiver à Majorque" (A Winter in Majorca), published in 1855.
Chopin left her two years before his death, because of a family disturbance wherein he supported her daughter Solange's marriage choice, which had caused Sand to disown the daughter.
A liaison with the writer Jules Sandeau heralded her literary debut. They published a few stories in collaboration, signing them "Jules Sand." She consequently adopted, for her first independent novel, "Indiana" (1832), the pen name that made her famous – George Sand.
Her first published novel, "Rose et Blanche" (1831), was written in collaboration with Jules Sandeau.
Drawing from her childhood experiences of the countryside, she wrote the rural novels "La Mare au Diable" (1846), "François le Champi" (1847–1848), "La Petite Fadette" (1849), and "Les Beaux Messieurs Bois-Doré" (1857). "A Winter in Majorca" described the period that she and Chopin spent on that island in 1838-9.
Her other novels include "Indiana" (1832), "Lélia" (1833), "Mauprat" (1837), "Le Compagnon du Tour de France" (1840), "Consuelo" (1842–1843), and "Le Meunier d'Angibault" (1845).
Further theatre pieces and autobiographical pieces include "Histoire de ma vie" (1855), "Elle et Lui" (1859) (about her affair with Musset), "Journal Intime" (posthumously published in 1926), and "Correspondence". Sand often performed her theatrical works in her small private theatre at the Nohant estate.
In addition, Sand authored literary criticism and political texts. Her most widely used quote being, "There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved."
She was known well in far reaches of the world, and her social practices, her writings and her beliefs prompted much commentary, often by other luminaries in the world of arts and letters. A few excerpts demonstrate much of what was often said about George Sand:
George Sand died at Nohant, near Châteauroux, in France's Indre "département" on 8 June 1876, at the age of 71 and was buried in the grounds of her home there. In 2004, controversial plans were suggested to move her remains to the Panthéon in Paris.
Frequent literary references to George Sand can be found in "" (1990) by A. S. Byatt. The American poet Walt Whitman cited Sand's novel "Consuelo" as a personal favorite and the sequel to this novel "La Comtesse De Rudolstady" contains at least a couple of passages that appear to have had a very direct influence on him. Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861), the English poet, produced two poems "To George Sand: A Desire" and "To George Sand: A Recognition". The character, Stepan Verkhovensky, in Dostoevsky's novel "The Possessed" took to translating the works of George Sand in his periodical, before the periodical was subsequently seized by the ever-cautious Russian government of the 1840s. George Sand is referenced a number of times in the play "Voyage", the first part of Tom Stoppard's "The Coast of Utopia" trilogy. And, in the first episode of the "Overture" to "Swann's Way" - the first novel in Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" sequence - a young, distraught Marcel is calmed by his mother as she reads from "François le Champi", a novel which it is explained was part of a birthday package from his grandmother which also included "La Mare au Diable," "La Petite Fadette," and "Les Maîtres Sonneurs." As with many episodes involving art in "À la recherche du temps perdu", this reminiscence includes commentary on the work.
Type 23 frigate
The type 23 frigate or "Duke" class frigate is a warship operated by the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom and by the Chilean Navy of Chile.
Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws is the name for three (historically: two laws) that were set into practice in Germany in 1935, and that were valid until 1945. They are named after the city of Nuremberg where the legislative assembly met.
They were:
On the 14th of November 1935, the Nuremberg laws were expanded prohibiting Roma (Gypsies), Blacks or any of their offspring from engaging in marriage or sexual relations with 'Those of German or German related blood'.
Thrice
Thrice is an American experimental rock band formed in 1998. They are always changing their sound from different albums. The four members in Thrice are the same four people as when they started 10 years ago.
In 2004, the band released a DVD about the band. In the DVD, it talks about the members. They talk about experiences with touring and being in the band. They also talk about their ideas about the future direction of the music.
Dustin Kensrue, the lead singer for the band, released a solo album in 2007.
Most recently, Thrice have released a four disc album titled "The Alchemy Index" (volumes "Earth", "Fire", "Water" and "Air"). At the end of each disc, there is a song written in a similar poem style. The last line in that song is always sung in the same way.
Sidewalk
A sidewalk is a path for pedestrians that runs along the side of a road. It is called a sidewalk in American English, but can also be called a pavement (mainly British English and South African English), a footpath (Australian English, Irish English, Indian English and New Zealand English) or footway (Engineering term).
Pedestrians use sidewalks to keep them safe from vehicles on the road. Sidewalks can be made of bricks or from tarmac.
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW, ) is a German automobile and motorcycle maker founded on 7 March 1916. It is one of the most famous automobile makers in the world. The headquarters is in Munich, Bavaria. BMW is part of the "German Big 3" luxury automobile manufacturers, along with Audi and Mercedes-Benz.
BMW makes these automobiles:
BMW's automobiles are tuned and modified by several German Tuning Companies such as AC Schnitzer, M, and Alpina.
Mazda
Mazda Motor Corporation is a car manufacturer or maker based in Hiroshima, Japan. Mazda is the 15th largest car maker in the world, and 12th largest in U.S. sales. The company was started in 1920. Today it has about 44,000 employees. Sales are 2,057,614,000,000 yen.
In 1920,Toyo Koruku Kogyo was established. In 1984, it changed its name to Toyora Motor Corporation. The company is unique in using rotary engines in some of its cars. A rotary engine has more power for its weight than ordinary engines. In 1991, the Mazda 787B (which had a rotary engine) won the 24 Heures du LeMans. From 1979 to 2010, Mazda had a partnership with Ford Motor Company. At one point, Volkswagen owned 1/3 of Mazda's stock. Since 2000, Mazda has grown, especially in Europe and North America, and it is now completely separate from Ford. In 2015, Mazda and Toyota agreed to work together.