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Louise-Rose-Étiennette Gérard was born in Paris to a noble family; and whose paternal grandfather
was the distinguished Marshal Étienne Maurice Gérard of the Napoleonic era. She published her first
collection of poems, Les Pipeaux, in 1889 in which she assumed the pen name, Rosemonde, inspired
by her grandmother, the widow of Marshal Gérard.
She married the playwright, Edmond Rostand, in 1890 and bore two sons. They first lived in Paris
but subsequently at Cambo-les-Bains, south west France. Somewhat to the neglect of her own
works, she devoted much of her activities to his support, including writing his biography, but she,
nonetheless, wrote numerous works of poetry and a comic opera, La Marchande d'allumettes as
well as a novel, Madame de Genlis. She celebrated her husband's famous creation by once
appearing as Roxane to Sarah Bernhard's Cyrano.
She was created Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 1931 and also served as a jury member of
the Prix Femina.
She was highly regarded in the world of literature and several of her works were set to music,
principally by Chabrier.
She died in Paris.
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