"Her Royal Highness Woman" by Max O'Rell is a satirical work of fiction that offers biting social commentary on gender roles and women's rights during the Victorian era. Through humor and wit, O'Rell explores the complexities of societal expectations and challenges prevailing gender stereotypes. Set against the backdrop of European society, particularly in France, the novel serves as a cultural critique, shedding light on the absurdities and contradictions inherent in gender norms and expectations. With sharp insight and comedic flair, O'Rell delves into the nuances of feminism and the quest for gender equality, challenging readers to reconsider traditional beliefs and attitudes. As a piece of French literature, "Her Royal Highness Woman" showcases O'Rell's skill as a master satirist, using comedy to illuminate the hypocrisies and injustices faced by women in society. Through its humorous narrative and astute observations, the novel offers readers a fresh perspective on the complexities of gender dynamics and societal norms prevalent in European society during the Victorian era.
Leon Paul Blouet, a French author and journalist, used the pen name Max O'Rell. Max O'Rell was born Leon Pierre Blouet on March 3, 1847, in Avranches, a little hamlet near the Abbey of Mont St Michel in Normandy on the border with Brittany. He later preferred the name Leon Paul Blouet. His paternal grandfather, Jean-François Blouet, was the jail warden at Mont St Michel from 1806 to 1818. At the age of twelve, he relocated to Paris and attended the conservatoire and college before earning a B.A. and a BSc from the Sorbonne in 1865 and 1866, respectively. With few chances in France, Blouet chose to become a journalist and departed for London in 1872. In 1874, he was appointed senior master of French at the prestigious St Paul's School for Boys in London. Later that year, he married Mary Bartlett in Devon. Their daughter, Léonie, was born in 1875. Blouet began working on a book of sketches about England in the early 1880s, most likely influenced by Hippolyte Taine's Notes sur l'Angleterre. Calmann-Lévy published John Bull et son île in Paris in 1883 under the pseudonym Max O'Rell, which he used to maintain the dignity of his teaching position.
