Adine Riom, born Alexandrine Louise Claudine Broband (25 October 1818 – 28 August 1899), was a French writer, poet, and playwright.
Life
Riom was born in Le Pellerin, Loire-Inférieure, France. She was the daughter of Louis Broband, a bodyguard to Pauline Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte. At age 22, she married Alexandre Eugène Riom, a notary in Nantes, and moved to a private mansion on Boulevard Delorme in Nantes. There, she hosted a literary salon that attracted numerous regional writers, including Joseph Rousse, Émile Péhant, Eugène Lambert, Eugène Manuel, Émile Blin, Honoré Broutelle, Louis Tiercelin, and Olivier de Courcuff.
Literary career
Riom published several volumes of poetry under the pen names "Count of Saint-Jean" (comte de Saint-Jean) and "Louise d'Isole." Her poetry received critical acclaim from contemporaries including Victor Hugo and Alphonse de Lamartine. In addition to poetry, she wrote three novels and contributed to numerous literary magazines such as La France littéraire, La Revue contemporaine, and La Revue de Bretagne et de Vendée. She also participated in drafting an anthology of 17th-century Breton poets, published in 1884.
Selected works
Novels
- Le serment, ou La Chapelle de Bethléem (1855)
- Mobiles et zouaves bretons (1871)
- Michel Marion, épisode de la guerre de l'indépendance bretonne (1879)
Poetry and theatre
- Oscar, poème (1850)
- Reflets de la lumière (1857)
- Flux et reflux (1859, under the pen name Count of Saint-Jean)
- Passion (1864)
- Après l'amour (1867, under the pen name Louise d'Isole)
- Merlin (1872)
- Histoires et légendes bretonnes (1873)
- Salomon et la reine de Saba, légende orientale (1873)
- Fleurs du passé (1880)
- Légendes bibliques et orientales (1882)
- Les Adieux, poésies bretonnes (1895)
Anthology
- Anthologie des poètes bretons du 17me siècle (1884)
Legacy
Adine Riom died on 28 August 1899 in Nantes at the age of 80. The Adine Riom Cultural Space (Espace culturel Adine Riom) in Le Pellerin, France, was named in her honor.
