Edith Thomas
| Édith Thomas | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
23 January 1909 Montrouge |
| Died | 7 December 1970 (aged 61) Paris |
| Pen name | Jean Le Guern, Auxois |
| Occupation | archivist |
| Nationality | French |
| Education | École des chartes |
| Genres | novels, women's history |
| Notable awards | Prix du Premier Roman |
Édith Thomas (23 January 1909, Montrouge – 7 December 1970, Paris) was a French novelist, archivist, historian and journalist.
A bisexual pioneer of women's history, she reputedly inspired a character of the famous erotic novel Story of O.
Thomas studied at the École des chartes, from which she graduated in 1931.
In 1933, her first novel, La Mort de Marie (Mary's Death), was awarded the Prix du Premier Roman. A few years later she quit her job to become a journalist at Ce Soir, a left-wing evening newspaper close to the Popular Front government. She also contributed to various magazines (Vendredi, Europe, Regards) for which she covered the Spanish Civil War on the Republican side.
During World War II, she joined the Résistance and became a member of the French Communist Party in 1942. She wrote a series of short stories under male pseudonyms (Jean Le Guern, Auxois), published on clandestine press by Les Editions de Minuit in 1943, under the title Contes d'Auxois.
After the War, she returned to her first profession and took a position as curator at the Archives nationales. She then became a pioneer of women's history in France, working mainly on feminism during the 19th century and on significant female figures such as Joan of Arc, Pauline Roland, Louise Michel and George Sand. She left the Communist Party in 1949.
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