Flora Tristan

Flora Tristan is best known as a nineteenth century French social critic and reformer. Her writings can be seen as a precursor to Marxism and Feminism. Flora Tristan: Life Sories by Susan Grogan, investigates the life of Flora Tristan through an exploration of the way she represented herself in her own writings. The author also examines the portrayal of Flora Tristan in paintings and literature. Rather than adopting a chronological approach, the author surveys the personae of Flora Tristan through thematic chapters on her roles as author, socialist, traveller and 'Mother of the Workers'. She places Flora Tristan in the context of contemporary debates and ideas, adding to our understanding of the times in which Flora Tristan lived. Flora Tristan: Life Stories argues that Flora Tristan's self-representations were attempts to claim a role of authority and significance not open to women in the nineteenth century. This authoritative study also engages with attempts to re-evaluate the writing of biography and to explore the meaning of an individual life in historical context.