BENSAUDE, Jane

Jane Oulman Bensaude was a French-born composer, writer, and children's author who spent a significant portion of her life fully integrated into the cultural and intellectual circles of both Paris and Lisbon. Following her marriage to the Portuguese mineralogist and engineer Alfredo Bensaude, she relocated to Lisbon. There, she split her life between France and Portugal, dedicating herself heavily to both writing and musical composition. In 1895, she published Gentil Mignon, a vocal and musical composition released in Paris via the publisher Charles Delagrave. Her posthumously published autobiography, Memorie, details her life in Parisian salons, her interactions with prominent 19th-century poets, writers, and politicians, and her lifelong passion for artistic creation. She was also the mother of the pioneering Portuguese mycologist and scientist, Mathilde Bensaude.