Rachilde had a major role in the first Symbolist theaters in Europe, where she was instrumental in getting Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi produced as well as serving as a voice of encouragement for directors, playwrights, and actors. She herself wrote over twenty plays that were produced in Paris, Saint Petersburg, Tunis, Germany, and Scandinavia. Rachile helped form the Symbolist aesthetic in drama.

Rachilde was born Marguerite Eymery in the provincial city of Périgueux on 11 February 1860. An only child, she suffered rejection from her parents, who wanted a boy, and endured a lonely and troubled childhood marked by her father's military career and the 1870 Franco-Prussian War. She began writing as a teenager, publishing mostly in local newspapers, and adopted the pseudonym Rachilde, which gradually replaced her given name. As soon as she was old enough to live independently she moved to Paris and continued working as a...