Listen to a sample
Becoming George
- Author
- Fiona Sampson
- Narrator
- Fiona Sampson
- Publisher
- Transworld
- Publish Date
- 19 February 2026
- Run Time
- 10 hours 43 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
Not available in your country
We don't have the rights to sell this audiobook where you are. If it's already in your library you can still listen to it in My Books.
What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
My friends will respect me, I hope, just as much under my jacket as under my dress... So take me for a man or a woman as you wish.
By the age of thirty, the novelist who had been born Aurore Dupin in 1804 had become the internationally renowned George Sand. In English, her daring literary experiments were out-selling even Victor Hugo. But the legend of Sand herself scandalised Paris. Not only prodigiously talented but cigar-smoking, cross-dressing and promiscuous, she seemed to break all the rules society set for women.
What can we learn from the way she lived? Was her iconoclasm simply an act of courage, a declaration of absolute autonomy? Or did her emotional and creative relationships with many of the leading figures of her day – from Fryderyk Chopin to Gustave Flaubert, and Alfred de Musset to Eugène Delacroix – form part of her dialogue with the world around her: a dialogue that is intrinsic to writing itself?
In Becoming George, award-winning poet and biographer Fiona Sampson rehabilitates Sand as an intellectual and artistic giant, the beating heart of French literature in the nineteenth century. Too often underestimated in the century and a half since her death, she speaks to us today – about ecology, politics, society, gender – with brilliant prescience; a figure ahead of her time.
Praise for Fiona Sampson:
‘Fiona Sampson is a sleuth of a biographer ... rarely has my jaw dropped on so many occasions while reading a biography.’ Ysenda Maxtone Graham, Daily Mail on In Search of Mary Shelley
‘Brilliant, heart-stopping ... reads like a thriller, a memoir and a provocative piece of literary fiction all at the same time ... magical and compelling.’ Charlotte Gordon, Washington Post on Two Way Mirror: The Life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning
‘If we get another literary biography [this year] as astute and feelingful as this one, we shall be lucky.’ John Carey, The Sunday Times on In Search of Mary Shelley
© Fiona Sampson 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
Critics Review
-
'From [Sampson's] approach emerges a writer who seems as alive as if she had just walked out of the room and could return at any minute. Sand would probably have appreciated Sampson’s sympathetic assessment of the challenges faced by female writers... She would also have enjoyed Sampson’s quietly witty touches. When Sand died... Hugo sent a tribute claiming: “I mourn a dead woman and I salute an immortal one.” Many readers will start this fascinating biography with the assumption that he was merely being polite. By the time they have finished it they will probably agree with him.
The Times (Book of the Week)
-
Thought-provoking . . . Becoming George is a book written with energy, passion and commitment to its fascinating subject. Indeed, it does just what a literary biography should do: it leaves one wanting to read Sand for oneself.
Literary Review
-
Confession, I’ve never read any of her novels – but that doesn’t stop one enjoying this biography of her extraordinary life.
Daily Mail
-
Engaging . . . elegant . . . empathetic
Guardian
See more reviews See fewer reviews
-
Sampson's vivid and innovative biography will hopefully send a new generation of readers to Sand's work to grapple as she did with her combinations of audacious modernity and old fashioned storytelling.
Observer
-
A romp to read . . . Ms Sampson is a skilful writer, who deftly evokes the cultural firmament in which Sand lived and worked.
The Economist
-
[Fiona Sampson] expertly immerses readers in the cultural and intellectual world that produced one of the greatest practitioners of 19th-century literature . . . Becoming George re-creates Sand’s life with thoughtfulness and attention to detail . . . Fittingly, Becoming George neither accuses nor glorifies its subject. It functions, instead, as an honest and inquisitive interrogation of a life that has been, for too long, shrunken down and underappreciated.
Wall Street Journal
-
A highly readable, subtly inventive book that argues for Sand’s importance not just as a writer but as a cultural figure... It reminds us that Sand is synonymous with the 19th century, France and the extraordinary written culture of that time and place.
New Humanist
-
Biographer Fiona Sampson rehabilitates her as the beating heart of 19th-century French literature.
i Paper
-
What comes through most strongly in this lucid and at times insouciant biography is the irrepressibility of Sand’s voice. It is almost as if she has spurred Sampson on, at least stylistically, even from beyond the grave.
Sydney Morning Herald
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Fiona Sampson
- Narrator
- Fiona Sampson
- Duration
- 10 hours 43 minutes
- Release Date
- 19 February 2026
- ISBN
- 9781529985726
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Transworld
- Genre
- Biography: writers, Biography: historical, political and military, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers, Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900, LGBTQIA+ Studies / topics
Synopsis
Brought to you by Penguin.My friends will respect me, I hope, just as much under my jacket as under my dress... So take me for a man or a woman as you wish.By the age of thirty, the novelist who had been born Aurore Dupin in 1804 had become the internationally renowned George Sand. In English, her daring literary experiments were out-selling even Victor Hugo. But the legend of Sand herself scandalised Paris. Not only prodigiously talented but cigar-smoking, cross-dressing and promiscuous, she seemed to break all the rules society set for women.What can we learn from the way she lived? Was her iconoclasm simply an act of courage, a declaration of absolute autonomy? Or did her emotional and creative relationships with many of the leading figures of her day – from Fryderyk Chopin to Gustave Flaubert, and Alfred de Musset to Eugène Delacroix – form part of her dialogue with the world around her: a dialogue that is intrinsic to writing itself?In Becoming George, award-winning poet and biographer Fiona Sampson rehabilitates Sand as an intellectual and artistic giant, the beating heart of French literature in the nineteenth century. Too often underestimated in the century and a half since her death, she speaks to us today – about ecology, politics, society, gender – with brilliant prescience; a figure ahead of her time.Praise for Fiona Sampson:‘Fiona Sampson is a sleuth of a biographer ... rarely has my jaw dropped on so many occasions while reading a biography.’ Ysenda Maxtone Graham, Daily Mail on In Search of Mary Shelley‘Brilliant, heart-stopping ... reads like a thriller, a memoir and a provocative piece of literary fiction all at the same time ... magical and compelling.’ Charlotte Gordon, Washington Post on Two Way Mirror: The Life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning‘If we get another literary biography [this year] as astute and feelingful as this one, we shall be lucky.’ John Carey, The Sunday Times on In Search of Mary Shelley© Fiona Sampson 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
About xigxag
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.