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Madame De Stael First Edition
Author(s): Maria Fairweather (Author)
- Publisher: Constable
- Publication Date: 24 Feb. 2005
- Edition: First Edition
- Language: English
- Print length: 480 pages
- ISBN-10: 1841198161
- ISBN-13: 9781841198163
Book Description
The influence of the salons of Paris on the thought and culture of the eighteenth century would be difficult to overstate. They were both intellectual powerhouses and also assemblies where the latest and most extreme fashion was displayed. ‘Young gallants…wearing silk waistcoats embroidered with Chinese pagodas, making love to ladies reclining negligently against the cushions…or accepting small cups of chocolate from the hands of Negro pages’, thus Harold Nicolson describes the drawings of the time in his book The Age of Reason. These meeting places for the vanguard of society were presided over by a succession of brilliantly clever women, the salonieres, and the most brilliant and clever of all of them was Madame de Stael. Although the died at the age of 51 she filled her life to the brim, and enjoyed a hugely influential role among the great names of the day. Born Germaine Necker, in Paris on 22 April 1766, her father was a powerful banker and her mother a Swiss pastor’s daughter who never got over her good fortune in marrying a rich man. In 1786 Germaine was married to a secretary in the Swedish embassy called de Stael, but although she thought him ‘a perfect gentleman’ she
Editorial Reviews
Review
‘Fairweather’s excellent biography matches the richness, charm and humour of its subject … It is a terrific read.’ — Financial Times Magazine – Weekend, March 5, 2005
‘Grippingly readable as well as beautifully produced, it does [Madame de Stael] full justice.’ —
The Independent, March 21, 2005‘Maria Fairweather is to be congratulated on the wealth of stories that enrich her book and make it exceptionally readable.’ —
Spectator, February 19, 2005‘The concentration on Madame de Stael’s personality makes for a very readable account’ —
Times Literary Supplement, March 18, 2005A ‘thoroughly researched and beautifully written book.’ —
Mail on Sunday, March 6, 2005A fascinating glimpse into a hidden world, raising almost as many questions as it answers. —
Good Book Guide June 2006A scintillating biography of Madame de Stael. —
Good Book Guide 1 JuneAn encyclopedic, thoroughly researched account of a remarkable figure. —
BBC History Magazine Monday 1 MayAbout the Author
This is Maria Fairweather’s second biography. The first was The Pilgrim Princess: A Life of Princess Volkonsky published in 1999 of which Victoria Glendinning wrote. “A rich, compelling historical biography – the extraordinary story of a beautiful princess whose life and loves were intimately interwoven with those of great men at the cataclysmic centre of events in early nineteenth-century Europe.’
