Staë l, Germaine de

orig. Anne-Louise-Germaine Necker, Baroness de Staë l-Holstein known as Madame de Staë l

born April 22, 1766, Paris, France

died July 14, 1817, Paris

French-Swiss writer, political propagandist, and salon hostess.

She early gained a reputation as a lively wit. She first became known for Letters on the Works and the Character of J.-J. Rousseau (1788). The most brilliant period of her career began in 1794, when she returned to Paris after the Reign of Terror; her salon, known for its literary and intellectual figures, flourished, and she published political and literary essays, notably A Treatise on the Influence of the Passions upon the Happiness of Individuals and of Nations (1796), an important document of European Romanticism. In 1803 Napoleon, who resented her opposition, had her banished from Paris, and she made the family residence in Coppet, Switz., her headquarters. Probably her most important work is Germany (1810), a serious study of German manners, literature and art, philosophy and morals, and religion. Her other writings include novels, plays, moral essays, history, and memoirs.

Germaine de Staë l, portrait by Jean-Baptiste Isabey, 1810; in the Louvre, Paris

Giraudon

Art Resource/EB Inc.

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