Excerpt from Renoir's Dancer by Catherine Hewitt, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Following the Revolution of 1789, marriage had been secularised, and couples were obliged to officialise their union at the mairie as well as having a religious ceremony. Sometimes the two ceremonies took place on the same day, but more usually there was a day or two between them. According to custom, Léger Coulaud and Madeleine Valadon's banns had been read twice outside the mairie, first on 28 January and then on 4 February at ten in the morning. None of the locals had made any objection, and so on 12 February, a small ceremony had been conducted in the local church. Then at 11 o'clock on 13 February, Madeleine officially became the wife of Léger Coulaud. Two of the couple's mutual friends stood as witnesses along with one of Madeleine's cousins, while the bride's mother and grandfather also signed the register. So did Léger's father, Léger senior, but his mother, Thérèse Thoumassonet, did not; like so many women in rural society, she could neither read nor write.

Limousin weddings were big affairs. Once the formalities were complete, a copious meal was traditionally offered to guests in one or other of the family members' barns, which would be decorated with swathes of white sheet and laurel leaves. Normally sparse tables strained under the weight of steaming pot-au-feux, meat pies, veal and mutton casseroles, roast pork and spit roasted poultry. Then came apple tarts, prune tarts and clafoutis (the region's cherry and batter dessert), and the whole meal was washed down with formidable quantities of wine. Once all the guests had eaten their fill, there would be singing, which would be opened by the maid of honour, before the rest of the diners joined in to congratulate the bride and groom. But under no circumstance were the couple to lend their voices to the throng: that was bad luck. After the singing came dancing, which would often take the form of special regional dances (of which there were several in the Limousin). The bride and groom would take the lead, and it was not unusual for the dances to continue into the small hours of the morning. The physical exertion was sufficient to rekindle waning appetites, so the dancing was invariably followed by more feasting. By the time the revellers were ready to begin the next round of dancing, the bride and groom would be preparing to make their discreet exit. But even if they managed to escape unnoticed, the couple would be subject to all kinds of teasing and pranks, the next day if necessary. And they would also be compelled to partake in some more serious rituals, not least walking beneath the requisite loaf of bread, held aloft as they passed through the doorway of the new marital home, while good fortune was invoked on the house­ hold with the words 'Qué jamais vous manca!' (May bread never be lacking).

After the deluge of rituals and festivities, it was often a relief for couples to begin their new life together in peace and establish their routines, all the while hoping that the measures taken to ensure happiness and prosperity would prove effective. M. Coulaud and his new wife moved into a property in Bessines and began to settle into married life. With Madeleine continuing to work, as well as having to keep house and make sure that her husband was well fed, there was much to do. But both husband and wife working meant that there was money coming in, and as they began their first year of marriage, fortune seemed to smile on the newlyweds.

Still, however, Madeleine's happiness was not yet complete. Something was missing. The dearest hope of every young Limousin wife was to provide her husband with a healthy son to continue the family name. As with marriage, there were a number of different methods at a woman's disposal if she wanted to ensure she became a mother. Bessines had its own sacred fountain named after the town's patron saint. Drinking its water was said to guarantee that a woman would give birth to an attractive baby and that the labour would be free of complication. Whether due to unearthly powers or just good luck, within a year of their wedding, the couple's joy was complete. By the end of the summer, Madeleine had fallen pregnant and the following April, she gave birth to a baby boy, who was named after his father.

Renoir's DancerRenoir's Dancer by Catherine Hewitt. Copyright © 2018 by the author and reprinted by permission of St Martin's Press.