Marceline Desbordes-Valmore was born on June 20, 1786.
Marceline Desbordes-Valmore was born on June 20, 1786, in the town of Douai, France. Coming into the world during a turbulent period that preluded the French Revolution, Marceline's early life was marked by both personal and socio-political upheaval. This environment of hardship and persistence shaped her later works and perhaps instilled the emotive style that characterizes her poetry. Her birth is a significant pole in French literary history, marking the emergence of one of poetry's most tender voices.