Jacqueline

Therese Bentzon was the pseudonym of Marie Thrse Blanc, a French journalist, essayist, and novelist. For many years she was on the staff of the "Revue des Deux Mondes," She was born at Seine-Port, traveled widely in the United States, and wrote wisely of American literature and social conditions, as well as translating works by Charles Dickens, Bret Harte, Ouida, Aldrich, and Mark Twain. She was considered one of the greatest living French female novelists.

"Jaqueline" tells the story of the fifteen year old daughter of the Baron des Nailles. She lives with the Baron and her stepmother, whom she nearly worships. The stepmother fears the girl will develop a beauty that will outstrip her own, and treats her as a girl several years younger in an attempt to retard her development.

Jaqueline loves a great painter named Hubert Marien, who is an intimate of the family, and sees his wish to paint her portrait as evidence of his love in return. The portrait causes problems for all concerned, and precipitates a series of events that will force Jacqueline to become an adult and understand the workings of the world and those around her.