Jeanne Cappe
Jeanne Cappe (August 29, 1895 – November 23, 1956) was a Belgian journalist and author who wrote books for young people.[1]
The daughter of agnostic parents, she was born in Liege. Her father, a lawyer, was accused of embezzlement and fled to Greece; her mother Jeanne Fouassin disappeared and she was raised by her mother's parents. After completing her studies at a Catholic secondary school, she converted to Catholicism. She continued her studies at the Université de Louvain.[2]
Cappe began work as a journalist, as an editor for Vingtieme Siecle from 1924 to 1928 and for La Nation belge from 1928 to 1955. From July 1927 to January 1928, she was editor-in-chief for La femme belge. Around the same time, she married Fernand Desonay, a Belgian academic. Cappe helped found Scriptores catholici in 1934.[1]
She wrote several lives of the saints for young readers, such as Astrid, la reine au sourire, published in 1935, which was translated into Swedish and English.[1] Cappe published adapted versions of works by Hans Christian Andersen, Lewis Carroll, the brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault.[2] She also published non-fiction works about children's literature and on child psychology.[3]
She helped found the Conseil de littérature de jeunesse in 1949 and served as its president.[1] The Conseil published the magazine Littérature de jeunesse, which was published until 1976; Cappe directed its publication until her death[3] in Brussels at the age of 61.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Gubin, Eliane (2006). Dictionnaire des femmes belges: XIXe et XXe siècles (in French). pp. 88–89. ISBN 2873864346.
- 1 2 Zelis, Guy (2009). Les intellectuels catholiques en Belgique francophone aux 19e et 20e siècles (in French). pp. 117–132. ISBN 287463199X.
- 1 2 "Jeanne Cappe". Littérature de Jeunesse (in French). Service général des Lettres et du Livre.