Jeanne Schultz (1862–1910)

Jeanne Schultz was born and lived her entire life in Paris. She grew up in a middle-class, military family as the daughter of an officer and niece of a general in the French Army. She was given an excellent education, and began writing as a child. In 1887, at age 25, she published her debut novel, La neuvaine de Colette, anonymously in the Revue des Deux Mondes. It became a success with the public and was published in book form the following year. The novel was awarded the Prix Montyon by the Académie française in 1892. It was later adapted into a 1925 French film. Subsequent works, still published anonymously, included Tout droit in 1890 and La Famille Hamelin in 1892, both children's and youth literature. She also used the pseudonym Philippe Saint-Hilaire for her other novels and short stories.