Alençon, Emilienne d' (fl. late 1800s)

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Alençon, Emilienne d' (fl. late 1800s)

French courtesan. Name variations: Emilienne d'Alencon. Fl. in the late 1800s.

Famed courtesan, ran away from home at 15 with a Gypsy (Roma) violinist; appeared at the Cirque d'Eté; had the "protection" of Leopold II, king of the Belgians, and Jacques, Duc d'Uzès, until his mortified family shipped him off to a regiment in Africa where he died of dysentery.

See also Women in World History.