Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve

Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve (28 November 1685 – 29 December 1755) was a French novelist influenced by Madame d'Aulnoy, Charles Perrault, and various précieuse writers. Villeneuve is particularly noted for her original story of La Belle et la Bête, which was published in 1740 and is the oldest known variant of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve was born and died in Paris. She belonged to a powerful Protestant family from La Rochelle and was a descendant of Amos Barbot, a Peer of France and a deputy in the Estates General in 1614. His brother, Jean Amos, became mayor of La Rochelle in 1610. Another relative, Jean Barbot (1655-1712), was an early explorer of West Africa and the Caribbean, and worked as an agent on slave ships. He published his travel journals in French and English after he migrated to England to escape the persecution of Protestants after Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685.

In 1706, Gabrielle-Suzanne married Jean-Baptiste Gaalon de Villeneuve, a member of a noble family from Poitou. Within six months of their marriage, she requested a separation of property from her husband, who had already squandered much of their substantial joint inheritance. A daughter was born, but no records indicate if she survived. In 1711, Gabrielle-Suzanne became a widow at the age of 26. She lost her fortune and was forced to seek employment to support herself. Eventually, she made her way back to Paris, where she met Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, or Crébillon père, the most famous writer of tragedies of the period. It is likely that she began co-habitating with Crébillon père in the early 1730s, although the earliest documented date is 1748. She remained with him until her death in 1755 and assisted him with his duties as the royal literary censor. She thus became knowledgeable about the literary tastes of the Parisian reading public.