Marie Anne Lenormand

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Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand (Alençon, 27 May 1772 – Paris, 25 June 1843) was a French professional fortune-teller, active for more than 40 years and of considerable fame during the Napoleonic era. She claimed to have given cartomantic advice to many famous persons, among them leaders of the French revolution (Marat, Robespierre and St-Just), Empress Josephine, and Czar Alexander. In 1814 she started a second literary career and published many texts, causing many public controversies. She was imprisoned more than once, though never for very long. In France she's considered the greatest cartomancer of all time, highly influential on the wave of French cartomancy that began in the late 18th century.

After her death her name was used on a newly-developed divination card deck, the so-called Lenormand cards. These are still used extensively in modern Germany, almost as popular as Tarot cards in some regions.

[edit] Works

Les souvenirs prophétiques d'une sibylle sur les causes secrétes de son arrestation - Paris (1814) (592 pages)
Anniversaire de la mort de l'impératrice Josephine (1815)
La sibylle au tombeau de Louis XVI (1816)
Les oracles sibyllins ou la suite des souvenirs prophétiques - Paris (1817) (528 pages)
La sibylle au congrès d'Aix-la-Chapelle (1819) (316 pages)
Mémoires historiques et secrets de l'impératrice Joséphine, Marie-Rose Tascher-de-la-Pagerie, première épouse de Napoléon Bonaparte - Paris (1820) (556 pages)
Mémoire justificatif présenté par Mlle Le Normand (1821) (20 pages)
Cri de l'honneur (1821) (18 pages)
Souvenirs de la Belgique - Cent jours d'infortunes où le procès mémorable (1822) (416 pages)
L'ange protecteur de la France au tombeau de Louis XVIII (1824)
L'ombre immortelle de Catherine II au tombeau d'Alexandre Ier (1826)
L'ombre de Henri IV au palais d'Orléans (1830) (107 pages)
Le petit homme rouge au château des Tuileries - Paris (1831) (107 pages)
Manifeste des dieux sur les affaires de France (1932) (60 pages)
Arrêt suprême des dieux de l'Olympe en faveur de Mme. la duchesse de Berry et de son fils (1833) (144 pages)

Possibly author of

Histoire de Jean VI. de Portugal, depuis sa naissance jusqu'à sa mort en 1826. - Paris : Ponthieu, 1827

[edit] External links

[1] Short biographical statements with links to online resources - most French original texts, but also one translated English text and two 19th century English biographies]
Various decks for cartomancy, between them also Lenormand cards