Grave of Monsieur Hawarden

Monsieur Hawarden is an 18th century mystery story. Monsieur Hawarden lived in Ligneuville. But no-one knows anything about his origins. In 1863, Monsieur Hawarden dies in the old mill. But the undertaker and the housekeeper discover a big surprise. Monsieur Hawarden was not a Monsieur at all. He was a Madame. Her papers identify her as Madame Meriora Gillibrand. She has been living as a man for 15 years under the noses of the villagers, who didn’t suspect a thing. But why?

Two young men were deeply in love with her. She became engaged to one, which filled the rival with jealousy. So much so, that the two young men fought, and her fiancé was killed. When she heard of her fiancé’s death, she stabbed him, and he too died. With the help of close friends, a cunning plan was concocted. She would leave Paris and go into exile in Belgium. Moreover, she would throw the police investigation completely off the track by taking up a new identity … as a man. And so, in Ligneuville, Belgium, Monsieur Hawarden was born.

Her life was the basis for the 1935 novel Monsieur Hawarden by Flemish writer Filip De Pillecyn (1891-1962). It was made into a 1968 Belgian-Dutch movie, Monsieur Hawarden, directed by Belgian director Harry Kümel.

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