About Louise Compain
Lived 1869 – 1941 (aged 72). Louise Compain was a French women's rights activist, novelist, lecturer and writer.
Louise Compain (also known as Louise Massebiau-Compain; 23 April 1869 – 7 December 1941) was a French novelist, journalist, freelance writer, feminist political activist, social reformer, and suffragist. She was the co-initiator of the feminist movement in France in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Biography Mélanie Louise Massebiau was born in Vierzon, France, on 23 April 1869. She was the daughter of Jean Louis Adolphe Massebieau, professor at the Faculty of Protestant Theology in Paris, and Louise Françoise Marie Boissier.
Compain was a member of the French Union for Women's Suffrage. A writer and journalist, she became known at the beginning of the feminist movement by writing successful feminist novels. Compain was a social reformer who supported causes related to women's suffrage, women's unions, and women's labor struggles. According to Charity Organisation Society (London, England, 1899):—
In Paris, October 1888, she married Luc Compain (1864-1889), Associate Professor at the Lycée de Chaumont who died accidentally on 17 November 1889 while preparing a thesis on the history of Geoffrey of Vendôme, published posthumously in 1891.
Compain was the aunt of Georgette Hammel (née Roustain; Righteous Among the Nations), the great-aunt of the feminist sociologist and writer Évelyne Sullerot, and the resistance activist, Élisabeth Quintenelle.
Compain died in December 1941 in Paris.
Awards Academy prize for L'un vers l'autre (1903)
Works La Femme dans les organisations ouvrières, 1910 La Vie tragique de Geneviève,1912 L'Amour de Claire, 1915 La Grand' Pitié des Campagnes de France, 1917 Les Portes de la vie spirituelle, 1927 La Robe déchirée, 1929 Calendrier de la vie spirituelle ou les étapes de l'âme, 1938
Don’t just read it —
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
People in Louise Compain's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Louise Compain's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Louise Compain?
French feminist, author
When was Louise Compain born?
Louise Compain was born on 24 April 1869 in Vierzon.
When did Louise Compain die?
Louise Compain died on 7 December 1941 in Paris.
What was Louise Compain's occupation?
Louise Compain was a women's rights activist, novelist, lecturer and writer.
What nationality was Louise Compain?
Louise Compain was French.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Louise Compain. https://biography.guide/louise-compain/
MLA: "Louise Compain." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/louise-compain/.
Chicago: "Louise Compain." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/louise-compain/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Page generated 2026-09-27 05:22 UTC