Renée Vivien (born Pauline Mary Tarn; 11 June 1877 – 18 November 1909) was a British poet who wrote in the French language.

Apart from poetry, she wrote several works of prose, including L'Etre Double (inspired by Coleridge's Christabel), and an unfinished biography of Anne Boleyn, which was published posthumously.

She has also been the subject of multiple biographies, most notably those by Jean-Paul Goujon, André Germain [de], and Yves-Gerard Le Dantec [d].

[2][3][4] Pauline attended the Belsize College in Hampstead, London, where, in 1883, she was awarded a silver medal by the Alliance française for her study of French.

In letters to her confidant, the French journalist and Classical scholar Jean Charles-Brun, Vivien wrote that she considered herself married to the Baroness.

[8] While still with Zuylen, Vivien received a letter from Kérimé Turkhan Pacha [fr; es], an admirer in Istanbul and the wife of a Turkish diplomat.

Kérimé, though French-educated and cultivated, lived according to Islamic tradition, which meant an isolated and veiled life in which she could neither travel freely nor leave her husband.

The French writer Colette, who was Vivien's neighbour from 1906 to 1908, immortalised this period in The Pure and the Impure, a collection of portraits showing the spectrum of homosexual behaviour.

Written in the 1920s and originally published in 1932, its factual accuracy is questionable; Natalie Barney reportedly did not concur with Colette's characterization of Vivien.

A public square is named in her honor in Paris: Place Renée-Vivien [fr], in Le Marais, central historic district of the French capital.

According to biographer Jean-Paul Goujon, Vivien suffered from chronic gastritis, due to years of chloral hydrate and alcohol abuse.

[13][14][15] Vivien also published poetry and prose in collaboration with lover, Hélène van Zuylen using the pseudonym, Paule Riversdale [fr].

The true attribution of these works is uncertain, however; some scholars believe they were written solely by Vivien, as well as some other books published under Zuylen's name.