Françoise de Graffigny

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Françoise d'Issembourg d'Happoncourt, Madame de Graffigny

Madame de Graffigny
Born February 11, 1695 (1695-02-11)
Flag of Lorraine (region) Nancy, Duchy of Lorraine
Died December 12, 1758 (aged 63)
Flag of France Paris, France
Title Madame de Graffigny

Françoise de Graffigny (11 February 1695-12 December 1758), born Françoise d’Issembourg du Buisson d’Happoncourt, is a French writer. She was born in Nancy and died in Paris.

She married a chamberlain in the household of the duke of Lorraine. However, her husband was a violent man, so she left him and went to Paris in 1743 with a certain Mademoiselle de Guise. There she befriended Voltaire, with whom she stayed for a time at the Château de Cirey and to whom she dedicated her writings.

She became famous with her Lettres d'une Péruvienne (1747) and Cénie (1750), about the condition of women. She is also the author of several journals and a 14-volume collection of correspondence. These letters written over a period of 25 years offer a vision of her friends and the period in which she lived.

She wrote a drama, La Fille d'Aristide, and composed short works for children, including La Fièvre d'Azor.

In 1820, 29 of her private letters were published under the title The private life of Voltaire and Madame du Châtelet.

[edit] Works

  • Lettres d'une Péruvienne
  • Cénie : pièce nouvelle en cinq actes
  • Correspondance de Madame de Graffigny
  • Le fils légitime drame en trois actes et en prose
  • Culotte rouge, ou, Le vainqueur du Kraken : drame-féerie en quatre actes et six tableaux,

[edit] External links