Émilie Carles

Marie Julie Émilie Allais was born in Val-des-Prés on 29 May 1900.[1] Her parents were small farmers in a mountainous region. Her mother died when she was just four. Two of her brothers fought in the First World War. She became a pacifist as a result of their experiences. Carles was educated in a local school but travelled to Paris to complete her teaching diploma when she was sixteen. She returned home were she taught in various schools in the area.[2][3][4][5][6]

in 1927 she met Jean Carles who became her husband. They were pacifists and feminists. The couple had two sons and a daughter. In 1936 they transformed their home in Val-des-Prés into a holiday inn for workers from the city. Their income continued to be supported by Carles' teaching salary. They experienced a tragedy during the Second World War when their daughter was killed in a pedestrian traffic accident with a military truck. Though Jean Carles was entitled to a military pension as a veteran of World War I, he refused it and refused to fight in the Second World War. To avoid being arrested as a deserter, he spent most of the war in hiding. He died in 1962.[3][4][5][6]

Carles wrote an autobiography which detailed her life. The book became a huge success selling millions of copies and being translated into numerous languages. It was made into a TV movie in 1997. When she died on 29 July 1979 Carles donated her body to science.[2][7][3][4][5][6]