Madame Du Deffand And Her World

(Paperback)

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Madame du Deffand (1696-1780) was a minor French aristocrat who, bored by her marriage, threw herself into scandalous relationships with leading noblemen, including the French Regent. She later re-invented herself as a highly successful salonniere, her salon being frequented by leading thinkers of the day. She also maintained very witty, perceptive correspondences with Voltaire (whose letters back are full expositions of his philosophy) and later with Horace Walpole with whom she fell deeply in love, much to his shock.

Author Bio

Teresa Waugh was born in 1940. She is the author of eight novels and has translated numerous books from from French and Italian. She lives in Somerset and was married to the late Auberon Waugh. A professor of French Literature at the University of Tuscia in Viterbo, Italy, Benedetta Craveri was born in Rome and now lives partly in Brussels. (Her husband is a French amabassador to NATO). A frequent contributor to the NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS