Renée Dunan

Renée Dunan (1892–1936) was a French writer, critic and poet. She wrote under a number of pseudonyms (appearing in parentheses below in the list of her works).

Biography Little is known about Dunan, as she left no memoirs, and her correspondence, though far from rare, is scattered. She was born in Avignon in 1892 into a family of industrialists, and died in 1936. After studying with the nuns and before becoming a journalist, she worked in offices and traveled extensively.

Dunan was a feminist and anarchist, as well as being a naturist and pacifist. A member of the Dadaists, she was in contact with André Breton, Philippe Soupault, Louis Aragon, Paul Éluard and Francis Picabia. She wrote around fifty books in a short space of time, most of which were published between 1922 and 1934 (up to eight titles a year). The genres of her novels are varied: erotica, adventure, historical, detective, psychological, esoteric, fantasy, science fiction and prehistoric tales. She published short stories in magazines such as and contributed to at least two issues of L'Endehors, Émile Armand's individualist anarchist journal. In 1928, and, in 1933. She wrote an essay on the writer René Boylesve, contributed to Le Crapouillot, and to the monthly periodical Le Sourire.

Dunan published her work under numerous pseudonyms, including Louise Dormienne, M. de Steinthal, Chiquita, Ethel Mac Singh, Luce Borromée, Laure Héron, Ky, A.-R. Layssa (perhaps E.-L. Loayssa?), Esther Sybra, Georges Damian, Léa Saint-Didier, William Stafford. Other pseudonyms attributed to her have not been reliably confirmed but include Marcelle La Pompe, Jean Spaddy, Renée Camera, and Paul Vorgs.

Fabrice Mundzik has suggested that Georges Dunan may have impersonated Renée Dunan in the late 1930s.

The Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal and the Bibliothèque Marguerite Durand in Paris hold fonds on Renée and Georges Dunan.

Selected works

La triple caresse, 1922 La Culotte en jersey de soie, 1923 Une Heure de désir La Flèche d'Amour Le Stylet en langue de carpe Magdeleine Mimi Joconde ou la belle sans chemise L'Amant trop aimé, (M. de Steinthal) Le Prix Lacombyne, 1924 Baal ou la magicienne passionnée, livre des ensorcellements, 1924 Le Brigand hongre, 1924 Kaschmir, Jardin du bonheur, 1925 La Dernière Jouissance, 1925 Les Nuits voluptueuses, 1926 Entre deux caresses, 1927 Je l'ai échapé belle !, 1927 Le Sexe et le poignard : la vie ardente de Jules César, 1928 La confession cynique, 1928 Éros et Psyché, 1928 Cantharide, roman de moeurs parisiennes, 1928 (Louis Querelle) Les Caprices du sexe ou les Audaces érotiques de Mademoiselle Louise de B…, 1928, (Louis Dormienne) L'Extraordinaire aventure de la Papesse Jeanne, 1929 Le Masque de fer ou l'amour prisonnier, 1929 Les jeux libertins, 1930 La Chair au soleil, 1930 Le Meurtre du milliardaire, 1934 Moi, poupée, (Spaddy) Dévergondages, (Spaddy) Colette ou les Amusements de bon ton, 1936, (Jean Spaddy)