Elena Văcărescu

Elena Văcărescu
Bellu cemetery, Bucharest
Occupation	Poet, writer, memoirist, novelist, playwright, translator
Language	French
Nationality	Romanian
Genres	Memoir, poetry
Notable works	Chants d'Aurore, Le Rhapsode de la Dâmbovița
Notable awards	French Academy Award
Relatives	Ioan Văcărescu (father) Eufrosina Fălcoianu (mother)
Signature

Elena Văcărescu, or Hélène Vacaresco (September 21, 1864 in

Life

Through her father, Ioan Văcărescu, she descended from a long line of

She spent most of her youth on the Văcărescu estate near Târgoviște. Elena first got acquainted with the English literature through her English governess, Miss Allan. She also studied French literature in Paris, where she met Victor Hugo, whom she later mentioned in her memoirs. She attended courses of philosophy, aesthetics and history and also studied poetry under the guidance of Sully Prudhomme.

Another influence on her early life was the

The meeting that changed her life was that with Elisabeth of Wied, Queen of Romania. The wife of King Carol I, she invited her to the palace in 1888. Interested in Văcărescu's literary achievements, Elisabeth became much more interested in the person of the poet. Having not yet recovered from the death of her only daughter in 1874, Elisabeth transferred all her maternal love to Elena.

In 1889, the lack of heirs to the Romanian throne made Carol adopt his nephew

Văcărescu was the Substitute Delegate to the League of Nations from 1921 to 1924. She was a permanent delegate from 1925 to 1926.^[2] She was again a Substitute Delegate to the League of Nations from 1926 to 1938. She was the only woman to serve with the rank of ambassador (permanent delegate) in the history of the League of Nations.

In 1925, she was welcomed as a member of the Romanian Academy. She translated into French, works of

Just before her death, Văcărescu was a member of the Romanian delegation, headed by Gheorghe Tătărescu, to the Paris Peace Conference, after World War II. She is interred in the Văcărescu family crypt in the Bellu cemetery, in Bucharest.

Published books

Original poetry

• Chants d'Aurore (1886)
• L'âme sereine (1896)
• Lueurs et Flammes (1903)
• Le Jardin passioné (1908)
• La Dormeuse éveillée (1914)

Folklore themes interpreted

• Le Rhapsode de la Dâmboviţa (1889)
• Nuits d'Orient (1907)
• Dans l'or du soir (1927)

Novels

• Amor vincit (1908)
• Le Sortilege (1911)

Memoirs

• Memorial sur le mode mineur (1945)
• Le Roman de ma vie

Theatre

• Stana (1904)
• Pe urma dragostei

Gallery

References