Lina Chaussina was married to a French journalist. Her first novel, ‘La Passion de la Ville’, was published in 2004.

Image copyright AFP Image caption La Passion de la Ville (Image: V&A Museum of Modern Art)

The French novelist Simone de Beauvoir, whose work the museum is currently highlighting, first wrote about the problems of being a single woman in an autobiographical novel, and described men in her book as “a pack of wolves” who had “a tendency to break into the house when you least expect it”.

La Veri Bello – A Tale of Two Bells (V&A) was published in 1963. In 1974, Jean-Paul Sartre visited the V&A and gave a lecture on “The Existential Question of Love”.

The two artists Jean-Loup Trégier and Jean-Pierre Amiel are among the most well known contemporary French artists – and their work in and around Paris is often referred to, although it is generally considered one of the more obscure figures of French culture.

The V&A also looks at the works of the Dutch artist Rene Magritte, who was a master at creating abstract art, that mixes real nature with images that would be considered surreal today – in 1972 his giant “Pietermaritzburg” inspired image drew widespread criticism.

Image copyright V&A Image caption The museum is focusing on the career of the French writer Simone de Beauvoir, whose work in pictures is now known globally

Pablo Picasso’s famous works – Picasso: The Youth and The Baroque (1972) and Woman with a Gun (1935) show great affection – but are now largely out of fashion.

The exhibition is at show until 30 August 2015.