The Dream Lover is a fictionalized account of the life of George Sand. The novel skips back and forth between Sand's past and her present, which can, at times, be jarring; however, these multiple storylines help the reader understand why George Sand might have acted as she did. She is a passionate woman who is eternally looking for real love, from her family, from men, and from a woman.
The writing is delicious, creating the time and the feel of the settings and making characters come to life. The problem I had with this novel, however, is that I grew tired of the main character. Aurore Dudevant takes the pen name George Sand, partially to make her novels sell better and partially because she envies men and the power their sex gives them. She takes to wearing men's clothing at least some of the time. The irony of this situation is that, in spite of all of her talk of equality, she is willing to sacrifice herself and her children for a man. There is such a string of men in her life that one becomes tired of the endless parade and of what she gives up for these men who, on the whole, are not deserving of her love.
She is involved with the major literary and artistic characters of her day, some as lovers and others as friends. The love of her life is an actress, Marie Dorval. They share one passionate night together, but George is never able to recover from her love of Marie. She does become involved with a number of other men after this relationship, but it is the memory of Marie that sustains her.
Perhaps the novel stretches too far, trying to include all of the events of her life. For me, it was simply too much.
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