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Madame de Stael: The First Modern Woman
"A writer of scintillating style and resonant substance," ( Publishers Weekly ), bestselling author Francine du Plessix Gray chronicles the incandescent life of the most celebrated woman of letters of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic era.
The daughter of the second most important man in France, Louis XVI's Minister of Finances, Jacques Necker, Madame de Staël was born into a world of political and intellectual prominence. Later, she married Sweden's ambassador to the French court, and for a span of twenty years, she held the limelight as a political figure and prolific writer. Despite a plain appearance, she was notoriously seductive and enjoyed whirlwind affairs with some of the most influential men of her time. She always attracted controversy, and was demonized by Napoleon for her forthrightness, the sheer power of her intellect, and the progressiveness of her salon, which was a hotbed for the expression of liberal ideals. The emperor exiled her, on and off, for the last fifteen years of her life.
Madame de Staël—force of nature, exuberant idealist, and ultimate enthusiast—waged a lifelong struggle against all that was tyrannical, cynical, or passionless in her time, and left Europe a legacy of enlightened liberalism that radiated throughout the continent during the nineteenth century.
The daughter of the second most important man in France, Louis XVI's Minister of Finances, Jacques Necker, Madame de Staël was born into a world of political and intellectual prominence. Later, she married Sweden's ambassador to the French court, and for a span of twenty years, she held the limelight as a political figure and prolific writer. Despite a plain appearance, she was notoriously seductive and enjoyed whirlwind affairs with some of the most influential men of her time. She always attracted controversy, and was demonized by Napoleon for her forthrightness, the sheer power of her intellect, and the progressiveness of her salon, which was a hotbed for the expression of liberal ideals. The emperor exiled her, on and off, for the last fifteen years of her life.
Madame de Staël—force of nature, exuberant idealist, and ultimate enthusiast—waged a lifelong struggle against all that was tyrannical, cynical, or passionless in her time, and left Europe a legacy of enlightened liberalism that radiated throughout the continent during the nineteenth century.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published October 9, 2008
About the author
Francine du Plessix Gray
33 books56 followersFrancine du Plessix Gray, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer and literary critic, was born in Warsaw, Poland, where her father, Vicomte Bertrand Jochaud du Plessix, was a French diplomat - the commercial attaché. She spent her early years in Paris, where a milieu of mixed cultures and a multilingual family (French father and Russian émigré mother) influenced her.
Widowed when her father died in battle, in 1940 du Plessix Gray's mother escaped France to New York with Francine. In 1942, her mother married Alexander Liberman, another White émigré from Russia, whom she had known in Paris as a child. He was a noted artist and later longtime editorial director of Vogue Magazine and then of Condé Nast Publications. The Libermans were socially prominent in media, art, and fashion circles.
Francine du Plessix Gray then grew up in New York City, and was naturalized a U.S. citizen in 1952. She was a scholarship student at Spence School. She attended Bryn Mawr College for two years, and in 1952 received her B.A. in philosophy from Barnard College, NY.
In 1957 she married painter Cleve Gray (1918-2004) with whom she had two sons.
Du Plessix Gray had a long and varied career, in the 1950s as reporter for several French magazines; book editor for Art in America New York City; staff writer for The New Yorker; several professorships, including at Columbia University.
Her most well-known book is Them: A Memory of Parents (2005). Her novels included Lovers and Tyrants (1976).
Widowed when her father died in battle, in 1940 du Plessix Gray's mother escaped France to New York with Francine. In 1942, her mother married Alexander Liberman, another White émigré from Russia, whom she had known in Paris as a child. He was a noted artist and later longtime editorial director of Vogue Magazine and then of Condé Nast Publications. The Libermans were socially prominent in media, art, and fashion circles.
Francine du Plessix Gray then grew up in New York City, and was naturalized a U.S. citizen in 1952. She was a scholarship student at Spence School. She attended Bryn Mawr College for two years, and in 1952 received her B.A. in philosophy from Barnard College, NY.
In 1957 she married painter Cleve Gray (1918-2004) with whom she had two sons.
Du Plessix Gray had a long and varied career, in the 1950s as reporter for several French magazines; book editor for Art in America New York City; staff writer for The New Yorker; several professorships, including at Columbia University.
Her most well-known book is Them: A Memory of Parents (2005). Her novels included Lovers and Tyrants (1976).
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October 18, 2009
This is a short, breezy biography of one of the most interesting personalities from European history. As an eyewitness to history, Madame de Stael is invaluable. She was the daughter of Jacques Necker, and managed to observe the last days of the ancien regime before its fall in the French Revolution. She participated in the intellectual and political ferment of her era, witnessing many of the crucial events of the Revolution (and sleeping with many of its participants, including Tallyerand and Benjamin Constant). She also managed to engage in a very public feud with Napoleon that resulted in her 10 year exile from France. De Stael was also a literary figure in her own right, publishing novels, memoirs, political treatises, and even a well regarded book on German culture. The author sends more time on the details of de Stael's charmed life, than on her literary work, which is too bad - if you check out Google Books, you will find her books on the French Revolution and her years in exile are long, but readable. This is a good book, but a little too short for my taste.
March 31, 2020
Είναι η βιογραφία της Μαντάμ Ντε Σταελ. Μια δυναμική πανέξυπνη γυναίκα με τεράστια μόρφωση απο μια αριστοκρατική οικογένεια. Μαθαίνουμε πολλά για την Γαλλική Επανάσταση και την ταραχώδη μετα-επαναστατικη περίοδο. Στα σαλόνια της πέρασαν οι πιο γνωστοί διανοούμενοι της εποχής όπως ο Σατωμπριαν, Γκαίτε και άλλοι πολλοί. Γνώρισε παρα πολλούς άντρες στην ζωή της. Ο πατέρας της ήταν στην υπηρεσία του Λουδοβίκου 16 και του Ναπολέοντα. Αξιοσημείωτο είναι το γεγονός ότι στα βιβλία της έδειχνε την απέχθεια της για τον Βοναπάρτη. Σχεδόν σε όλα τα βιβλια τηςεπικρίνει τον Ναπολέοντα. Εκείνος δεν την συμπαθούσε καθόλου. Θα ήθελα να διαβάσω κάποιο βιβλίο της.
May 4, 2016
An almost cliff notes presentation on the life of Madame de Stael. It's odd that the author decided to write this book since it seems that she does not like de Stael or her works very much--or her parents and much of those in that circle. She pronounces de Stael a manic depressive bipolar with an opium addiction and blames these causes for her death (or it was "spinal marrow cancer" -- something I was unaware of). Well what the hell about the syphilitic Benjamin Constant? Seriously, he had syphilis since he was a young man--did de Stael get it during the long cringe-worthy romance? What about the many other women in his life? (Although it seems like the author was constantly slut shaming de Stael--who cares if younger men were throwing themselves at her and she occasionally reciprocated?) Could syphilis account for her backward, oddly shaped younger child? What about the mysterious gangrene? The hallucinations? Maybe advanced syphilis is why she married that guy 18 years younger than herself who was dying of tuberculosis and not other reasons.
You almost want to break into her tomb and have a team of doctors find out for sure. And why hasn't anyone peeked in? If her mother embalmed herself with a vat full of formaldehyde so she'd be perfectly preserved, it's a shame to never see if it worked. Beyond have her bones checked out, for total prurient reasons it would also be interesting to know how many leading personages had STDs back in the day, besides Mrs. Beaton--reading statistics in that WW1 book about how 9% of all children born at turn of the century had congenital syphilis blew my mind (and that 30% of babies were born out of wedlock). Anyways, now I'll probably have to read a book about Benjamin Constant, but after all these books on the time, I really don't want to. Like Chateaubriand, I find him annoying to the extreme but maybe the answers are there.
It seems like everything good de Stael did, there is some obnoxious carp. So she learned German, read a ton of German books, visited Weimar, palled around with Goethe and Schiller, hired the leading Shakespearean German expert to be her assistant/children's tutor/weird third wheel, wrote a famous book about German literature that started the field of Comparative Literature, but she never went into one Gothic cathedral when her carriage briefly stopped at some town. She had time to go in, but was disinterested in architecture. Gasp. Maybe she was sleepy with all the opium and young guys, maybe she didn't want to mess up her turban. Who knows? But the author cites this several times.
All the askance looks aside, I did enjoy parts of this book (which hopped around on a number of subjects and the layout is pretty jarring) because of its subject matter--and I think the author does pinpoint, in de Stael's own words, her philosophy that was the focus of her life and was at the root of everything she did: ENTHUSIASM. "The storm of passion passes, the pleasures of self-love wane, only enthusiasm is never altered. Enthusiasm is the emotion that offers us the greatest happiness, the only one that offers it to us, the only one able to sustain human destiny in whatever situation destiny places us...Enthusiasm is tolerant, not out of indifference, but because it leads us to recognize the value and beauty of things."
And it's that kind of enthusiasm, she brought to everything she did. Evading authorities all over Europe, in her sprawling entourage of refugees, dressed in a crazy turban, writing constantly, sleeping only a few hours a night (I did like that this author included her daily schedule), and contrary to all her contemporaries it seems, died leaving even more money than she inherited. With a title like "The First Modern Woman" by the way, I would expect that to be addressed in the book--which it is not at all in this. You could make a strong argument that she was the first liberated woman of her time--even though she lived in the Age of Despots. There's a good line where during one of her many fights with Napoleon (and the author does bring up that de Stael can be seen as the inverse of Napoleon which is interesting), where she says they might be able to censor what she writes (and she got plenty of non-censored copies published in England so not really an issue) but never what she thinks, and therefore is impossible to stop.
You almost want to break into her tomb and have a team of doctors find out for sure. And why hasn't anyone peeked in? If her mother embalmed herself with a vat full of formaldehyde so she'd be perfectly preserved, it's a shame to never see if it worked. Beyond have her bones checked out, for total prurient reasons it would also be interesting to know how many leading personages had STDs back in the day, besides Mrs. Beaton--reading statistics in that WW1 book about how 9% of all children born at turn of the century had congenital syphilis blew my mind (and that 30% of babies were born out of wedlock). Anyways, now I'll probably have to read a book about Benjamin Constant, but after all these books on the time, I really don't want to. Like Chateaubriand, I find him annoying to the extreme but maybe the answers are there.
It seems like everything good de Stael did, there is some obnoxious carp. So she learned German, read a ton of German books, visited Weimar, palled around with Goethe and Schiller, hired the leading Shakespearean German expert to be her assistant/children's tutor/weird third wheel, wrote a famous book about German literature that started the field of Comparative Literature, but she never went into one Gothic cathedral when her carriage briefly stopped at some town. She had time to go in, but was disinterested in architecture. Gasp. Maybe she was sleepy with all the opium and young guys, maybe she didn't want to mess up her turban. Who knows? But the author cites this several times.
All the askance looks aside, I did enjoy parts of this book (which hopped around on a number of subjects and the layout is pretty jarring) because of its subject matter--and I think the author does pinpoint, in de Stael's own words, her philosophy that was the focus of her life and was at the root of everything she did: ENTHUSIASM. "The storm of passion passes, the pleasures of self-love wane, only enthusiasm is never altered. Enthusiasm is the emotion that offers us the greatest happiness, the only one that offers it to us, the only one able to sustain human destiny in whatever situation destiny places us...Enthusiasm is tolerant, not out of indifference, but because it leads us to recognize the value and beauty of things."
And it's that kind of enthusiasm, she brought to everything she did. Evading authorities all over Europe, in her sprawling entourage of refugees, dressed in a crazy turban, writing constantly, sleeping only a few hours a night (I did like that this author included her daily schedule), and contrary to all her contemporaries it seems, died leaving even more money than she inherited. With a title like "The First Modern Woman" by the way, I would expect that to be addressed in the book--which it is not at all in this. You could make a strong argument that she was the first liberated woman of her time--even though she lived in the Age of Despots. There's a good line where during one of her many fights with Napoleon (and the author does bring up that de Stael can be seen as the inverse of Napoleon which is interesting), where she says they might be able to censor what she writes (and she got plenty of non-censored copies published in England so not really an issue) but never what she thinks, and therefore is impossible to stop.
October 26, 2009
This is not a definitive biography of Madame de Stael (look to those of Fairweather or Herold), but rather a brief overview and introduction to her life and times. I am grateful to the book for having acquainted me with Madamme de Stael, a person sadly overlooked in European history overviews in North America. At one time, it was said that "there are three great powers in Europe: Britain, Russia and Madame de Staël." Until I read this book, I had never heard of her, nor had any idea that she had saved more people from the guillotine than the Scarlet Pimpernel, that she had influenced so many thinkers, writers, and politicians, or that she had been such a formidable foe of Napoleon.
So much for the positives though.
This book has to be the most poorly edited book I have ever read; the proofreading, or lack of it, is unforgivable for a supposedly professional publisher, and is a constant distraction.
Also a distraction is the structure of the book: instead of following a straight-forward timeline, Gray dips back and forth in time without giving clues to the reader. For example, Gray writes of the death of M. Stael, and then writes of things that happened years earlier without any sort of hint to readers of the shift in time (the realization comes only much later).
As one reviewer wrote earlier, the reader gets the definite sense that Ms. Gray finds her subject annoying and doesn't like her much. She diagnoses Mme. de Stael as being bi-polar, but does not provide much in the way of substantiation (did anyone with bonafide medical credentials make this diagnosis, or is it supposition on the part of Ms. Gray?). Towards the end of the book, I had the definite sense that Ms. Gray ran out of patience with her subject, and her irritation is allowed to permeate the text and taint the portrait of Mme. de Stael. This book was clearly not a labour of love on the part of Ms. Gray, and as a result she does not do justice to her subject.
A poor effort on the part of Francine du Plessix Gray.
So much for the positives though.
This book has to be the most poorly edited book I have ever read; the proofreading, or lack of it, is unforgivable for a supposedly professional publisher, and is a constant distraction.
Also a distraction is the structure of the book: instead of following a straight-forward timeline, Gray dips back and forth in time without giving clues to the reader. For example, Gray writes of the death of M. Stael, and then writes of things that happened years earlier without any sort of hint to readers of the shift in time (the realization comes only much later).
As one reviewer wrote earlier, the reader gets the definite sense that Ms. Gray finds her subject annoying and doesn't like her much. She diagnoses Mme. de Stael as being bi-polar, but does not provide much in the way of substantiation (did anyone with bonafide medical credentials make this diagnosis, or is it supposition on the part of Ms. Gray?). Towards the end of the book, I had the definite sense that Ms. Gray ran out of patience with her subject, and her irritation is allowed to permeate the text and taint the portrait of Mme. de Stael. This book was clearly not a labour of love on the part of Ms. Gray, and as a result she does not do justice to her subject.
A poor effort on the part of Francine du Plessix Gray.
July 8, 2008
If you don't know about (or enough about) Madame deStael, read this book. It's a fantastic biography of this fascinating woman. I don't know if I think she's the first modern woman (I mean, being bipolar, audacious, brilliant, and a conversationalist makes you many things, but modern? I'm not sure), but I was immediately sucked into this biography. Living through the French Revolution, bringing the salon to its highest level, and alienating Napoleon makes for compelling reading.
July 8, 2020
I'd never heard of Germaine de Stael before reading this, and it honestly would have made learning about the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte more interesting if I had.
October 26, 2011
Knowing next to nothing about Madame de Stael, I'm finding Francine du Plessix Gray's book highly readable and entertaining as well as superficially informative. I often found myself wishing she would delve below the surface of these momentous times in the history of France and the rest of Europe.
The majority of her citations are to J. Christopher Herold's Mistress to an Age: A Life of Madame de Stael, a 'secondary' source. Maybe I should be reading that instead.
ps: There are way too many unattributed quotations.
Her asides are often quite flippant. "On the morning of September 27, 1795 (13 Vendômiaire in revolutinary lingo)".
She uses the same quotations in different places in the book with different attributions (this isn't necessarily wrong). It does tells me that she did a lot of research for the book that didn't benefit the end result.
How did her editor let this redundancy get by? "Germaine immediately orders her carriage and by taking small secondary roads manages to arrive at the palace before the Parisian hordes, by taking small secondary roads."
The majority of her citations are to J. Christopher Herold's Mistress to an Age: A Life of Madame de Stael, a 'secondary' source. Maybe I should be reading that instead.
ps: There are way too many unattributed quotations.
Her asides are often quite flippant. "On the morning of September 27, 1795 (13 Vendômiaire in revolutinary lingo)".
She uses the same quotations in different places in the book with different attributions (this isn't necessarily wrong). It does tells me that she did a lot of research for the book that didn't benefit the end result.
How did her editor let this redundancy get by? "Germaine immediately orders her carriage and by taking small secondary roads manages to arrive at the palace before the Parisian hordes, by taking small secondary roads."
January 25, 2010
Larger than life, Madame Germaine de Staël was a lightening rod figure in Swiss/French/German political, social, and literary circles. She stood her ground as she spread her opinions while holding court in her magnificent salons and publishing her work under threat from Napoleon. Men adored her, were challenged by her, and drawn to this woman of imposing intellect and strength. Her scope of influence extended well into the 20th century as a result of her mentoring at a time when women were not esteemed for their intellect and wit. Boldly taking many lovers who resided at her family estate in Coppet, Switzerland, Germaine secretly bore children, saw some die, spirited others elsewhere to be raised, and kept some in her household and at private schools. She met the physical challenges of being female with the strength and resilience that characterized her life in all spheres of endeavor.
This is an empowering read of a boldly modern woman and her role in shaping history. I read it in daily free email installments via DailyLit.com and highly recommend this astounding nonfiction work.
A favorite line:
"With resentful dignity, Mme Necker retreated from her daughter’s life."
This is an empowering read of a boldly modern woman and her role in shaping history. I read it in daily free email installments via DailyLit.com and highly recommend this astounding nonfiction work.
A favorite line:
"With resentful dignity, Mme Necker retreated from her daughter’s life."
March 27, 2010
I would have completed this book earlier had I not left behind on my commute.
Madame de Stael (née Necker) led a monumental life that she created from her genius. Her intelligence and perceptiveness enraptured political and scholarly renowned men. Records indicate that mediocrity in beauty did not prevent a dazzling array of male suitors and admirers. She even wrangled with a formidable foe Bonaparte Napoleon for philosophical supremacy regarding France culture and politics. Her salon held court to such intellectual minds that attendees remarked the wittiest conversations occurred at Coppet (or whenever Germaine lived) than all of Europe.
Categorizing Madame de Stael as "The First Modern Woman" is not defined fully. She jumped gender barriers in her influence certainly, but modern in what sense? Did not Cleopatra surmount the female constrained norm?
Her manic depression burdened her health while also sustaining her constant quest for interaction. Tracing Madame de Stael's overlap with major French historical moments fertilized my brain further. Author kept the pace and content strong and dynamic. This never seemed like a textbook.
Madame de Stael (née Necker) led a monumental life that she created from her genius. Her intelligence and perceptiveness enraptured political and scholarly renowned men. Records indicate that mediocrity in beauty did not prevent a dazzling array of male suitors and admirers. She even wrangled with a formidable foe Bonaparte Napoleon for philosophical supremacy regarding France culture and politics. Her salon held court to such intellectual minds that attendees remarked the wittiest conversations occurred at Coppet (or whenever Germaine lived) than all of Europe.
Categorizing Madame de Stael as "The First Modern Woman" is not defined fully. She jumped gender barriers in her influence certainly, but modern in what sense? Did not Cleopatra surmount the female constrained norm?
Her manic depression burdened her health while also sustaining her constant quest for interaction. Tracing Madame de Stael's overlap with major French historical moments fertilized my brain further. Author kept the pace and content strong and dynamic. This never seemed like a textbook.
April 13, 2016
Francine du Plessix Gray has done a nice job giving us a brief biography of Germaine de Staël (nee Necker). From her youth as the precocious child of France's famous and extremely wealthy finance minister, to the upheavals of the Revolution (from which she saved many persons), to her later years as Europe's foremost salonière and one of the most steadfast opponents of Napoleon, Gray explains clearly and keeps it all in context. I like the brief biography form in Mme de Staël's case, as a longer, blow-by-blow description set against such a tumultuous period could cause the reader to miss the forest for the trees. There a few factual slip-ups, e.g., calling the duc d'Orleans (the future King Louis-Philippe) Louis XVI's "nephew"-but the book is generally quite accurate. I would rate this a must read for anyone interested in the Revolution, the Napoleonic period, or the Restoration.
April 12, 2014
Everyone I worked with read du Plessix Gray's "Lovers and Tyrants" in 1977. It was delicious, and so grown up. Somehow I thought her biography of de Stael would be the same. It is an almost boring plod through the life of a manic woman who was hated by Napoleon but strangely had a mesmerizing influence over Marie Antoinette, Schlegel, Barrant, and many government officials of the 1770s-early 1800s. She was usually in the right place (and talked her way out of the guillotine). She wrote 5 books. She reigned over a salon in Paris and Cobbet (when she was repeatedly thrown out of Paris by Napoleon). She was brilliant, she was crazy, she died of an opium addiction at 51.
June 12, 2012
I enjoyed the book a great deal after having visited the home of Madame de Stael along the coast of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. Our guide there had been excellent, but this book was a wonderful addition to my learnings about this fascinating woman.
February 12, 2015
Engaging, witty and full of wonderful insight, Francine du Plessix Gray's biography "Madame de Stael" was simply a joy to read. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in Women's Studies and French history, along with any avid biography readers.
March 29, 2010
Reading via DailyLit
I love when people's lives make great stories. Germaine de Stael's life was fascinating from beginning to end, as was the biography.
I love when people's lives make great stories. Germaine de Stael's life was fascinating from beginning to end, as was the biography.
January 20, 2023
This short, but surprisingly information-packed biography taught me a lot about Madame de Staël (1766-1817) that I did not know before. I still think the much more extensive Christopher Herold book Mistress to an Age is the definitive English-language biography on Madame de Staël. But Francine du Plessix Gray provides a concise compilation of Staël's most important writings as well as the whirlwind of events in the life of this fascinating lady. (Gray references the Herold book several times in her study). She begins with Germaine de Staël’s childhood spent in Paris and at Versailles where her father Jacques Necker was financial minister to King Louis XVI, and where young Germaine rubbed shoulders with the likes of Marie Antoinette. From her mother, the bizarre, but brilliant salonière Suzanne Necker, Germaine received an education that sculpted her into a sparkling conversationalist and a formidable intellectual who was noted for her fervent enthusiasm for life. The fact that her parents were Swiss and that they married her off to the Swedish ambassador Eric de Staël accorded Germaine enough diplomatic immunity to be spared the guillotine during the French Revolution and to become a real-life Scarlet Pimpernel who saved dozens of friends (at considerable expense to herself) from execution by spiriting them out of Paris to her father’s estate Coppet, near Geneva. Germaine was not a beauty, but nevertheless possessed an uncanny lifelong ability to attract numerous lovers. “In sum, like many a seductive belle laide,, she had a genius for sensing what any one man needed to hear, for convincing him that he could not live without her, and generally for making him feel great” (34). (Among her five children, the four who survived to adulthood were all born out of wedlock). Her lovers were legion, and included fellow writer Benjamin Constant with whom she would have a tumultuous decade-long relationship filled with intellectual exchanges and ongoing histrionics. Gray gives much attention to the indications that Madame de Staël was an opium addict and a manic-depressive which accounted for her astonishing output of lengthy essays and novels during her highs and her explosive scenes of unbridled personal drama during her lows. The author is also very thorough in describing Staël’s battles with Napoleon Bonaparte. “Adamant about proclaiming France’s superiority in every area of human endeavor, vehemently resenting Staël’s intimations that other cultures were superior to France’s, Bonaparte banned her writings for being ‘un-French’” (112). Each of her works (which also contained a feminist bent that Bonaparte detested) increasingly infuriated the emperor and spurred him to exile her further and further from Paris until he made her a virtual prisoner of her own home. Her second novel Coninne ou l’Italie inspired a cult of Italy in France and was loved by many future writers, especially women such as Mary Godwin Shelley, Harriet Beecher Stowe and George Eliot. Staël hoped Corinne would impress Bonaparte. He hated and banned it (although his rage made Corinne a succès de scandal. The up side of Staël’s exile is that Coppet became not only a sanctuary for anti-Napoleonic sentiment and solidarity, but also “a gathering place for the crème de la crème of the European intelligentsia,” that would rival Voltaire’s 18th-century Ferney (167-78). Weary and bored by the exit, Staël eventually escaped Coppet traveling eastward with an entourage of friends and Jean Rocca, the man some 27 years her junior with whom she would, at age 45 (!), bear her last child and who later would become her second husband. She particularly loved her sojourn in Russia, although the group had to be vigilant not to run into any of Napoleon 's armies that were swarming the country at the time. The author lists as Staël’s greatest works De la Littérature (1800), Delphine (1802). Corinne (1807), De l’Allemagne (1810), Dix Années d’Exil (1812), and Considerations sur la Révolution Française (posthumously, 1819). She provides some analysis and quotes from each of these and mentions others such as De l’influence des passions, Staël’s first major work, which did not make her “best” list. One last gratifying fact is that Coppet eventually was passed on to Staël’s daughter (with Benjamin Constant), Albertine, and is still owned and maintained as a museum by her descendants. Albertine also produced a posterity of successful scholars, politicians and scientists. "In sum, is through the [only] female line that Germaine's genius was perpetuated . . . [which] might have great pleased her" (234).
December 5, 2021
Lightweight but engrossing biography. De Staël was one of the more fascinating women ever. I taught Corinne years ago—it is a lively not mess of a book—and now I intend to revisit it. The perspective feels dated—why dwell on de Staël’s appearance in such a sneering manner, e.g? And she speaks disparagingly of “manic depression,” which she also armchair diagnoses. I’d rather have heard more about her work saving people from the Reign of Terror or supporting abolitionist efforts.
December 11, 2024
Germaine de Staël was a fascinating character during the French Revolution, throughout the Napoleonic Era and even into the beginning of the Bourbon Restoration. One of those people that you wish you could meet today. Definitely added to my list of invitees to the ultimate dinner party. du Plessix Gray was over 75 when she wrote this, her last, book and you can tell how much she loved and honored de Staël.
March 2, 2019
From the private makes perfect form of biography. Worthless to most of us who wanted actually know about her writing and her thoughts. Her love life and personal details are puerile and arbitrary. You may do much better in buying another book on Madame de Stael than getting this one.
November 9, 2020
Fairly well written, this is a biography of one of the greatest women to emerge from the end of the 18th century/early 19th century.
November 9, 2021
Extraordinary, complex, fascinating woman.
June 25, 2009
I first ran across Madame de Stael when she was mentioned in The Man Who Made Lists, a biography of Peter Roget (of the famous Thesaurus). He spent some time at on of her summer get-together's at her ancestral home in Switzerland. She sounded like such a character that I wanted to get to know her better. After reading the book, I'm not so sure.
This woman had her finger in every political and literary movement in early 19th century France -- indeed, perhaps all of Europe. The only daughter of the Louis XVI's finance minister, she supported the revolution -- up to a point. She hailed Napoleon as a person who could turn France's fortunes around -- soon after they were bitter enemies. Gray considers the fact that she may have been bipolar and/or manic depressive -- she certainly had energy to spare. But for all her intrestingness -- her loves, her out-of-wedlock children, her scandalous behavior in public, her manipulations and tantrums -- it's difficult to tell how the author feels about her subject.
In the end, I kind of feel like she, like me, would have been standing on the edges of a ballroom in Madame de Stael's presence, rolling her eyes and muttering, "Get a load of her!" A good brief biography of an unusual person.
This woman had her finger in every political and literary movement in early 19th century France -- indeed, perhaps all of Europe. The only daughter of the Louis XVI's finance minister, she supported the revolution -- up to a point. She hailed Napoleon as a person who could turn France's fortunes around -- soon after they were bitter enemies. Gray considers the fact that she may have been bipolar and/or manic depressive -- she certainly had energy to spare. But for all her intrestingness -- her loves, her out-of-wedlock children, her scandalous behavior in public, her manipulations and tantrums -- it's difficult to tell how the author feels about her subject.
In the end, I kind of feel like she, like me, would have been standing on the edges of a ballroom in Madame de Stael's presence, rolling her eyes and muttering, "Get a load of her!" A good brief biography of an unusual person.
July 6, 2012
Selected by my book club in 2009 as we met in Geneva, Switzerland, close to the village of Coppet where Madame de Stael lived for most of her life. Yes, her Chateau is still standing and you may visit her famous salon and well-used boudoir. In fact, I lived about a mile from the Chateau and always wondered about Madame de Stael and her gorgeous home each time I drove by. Our book club members were divided if this was a good read or not. The editing is horrible, the character development is skimpy and the general pace and flow of the book could use improvement. The best comment made by one of our book club members was "Did this author have an editor?" If you ignore the technical aspects of the author's writing, the story is very interestng. It was almost shocking to learn that the "handsome" (i.e. not beautiful) Madame de Stael was one saucy little tart who didn't hesitate to bed any man who could further her standing in society. She slept with everyone despite her homely appearance. Her relationship with her own father was a bit bizarre, verging on an unhealthy infatuation. This is a good short book that is unburdened by lengthy historical explanations of Napoleon-era French history. Pick it up if you see it at a garage sale or public library and enjoy a good read.
March 23, 2014
I didn't really like this sort-of biography of Madame de Stael, but I guess du Plessix Gray did what she set out to do. The woman de Stael always seemed distant to me: intensely political, even in her sexual relations, or should I say, "especially in her sexual relations"?
She was the toast of Paris, and of all of France at one point. I admit I picked up this book simply because I was curious about what kind of person could manage that and keep herself grounded. It turns out that she didn't, really, keep herself grounded. She began to believe her own hype.
Not the way I want anyone I love to be. She was powerful, no doubt about it. I suppose, if I had a child who had a personality more like this than like myself, I would share this little monograph with him/her. It might be interesting to him/her. But de Stael seemed to me to have the kind of cold political marksmanship I dislike, in fact.
But don't listen to me. It is said she was extremely amusing, charming, and manipulative. She held salons for which 'everyone' sought invitations. One's star rose and set in her drawing room. I like clever conversation as much as the next guy. Perhaps I sense it would simply be beyond me. I have not a thread of guile in me. How did that happen?
She was the toast of Paris, and of all of France at one point. I admit I picked up this book simply because I was curious about what kind of person could manage that and keep herself grounded. It turns out that she didn't, really, keep herself grounded. She began to believe her own hype.
Not the way I want anyone I love to be. She was powerful, no doubt about it. I suppose, if I had a child who had a personality more like this than like myself, I would share this little monograph with him/her. It might be interesting to him/her. But de Stael seemed to me to have the kind of cold political marksmanship I dislike, in fact.
But don't listen to me. It is said she was extremely amusing, charming, and manipulative. She held salons for which 'everyone' sought invitations. One's star rose and set in her drawing room. I like clever conversation as much as the next guy. Perhaps I sense it would simply be beyond me. I have not a thread of guile in me. How did that happen?
May 23, 2009
Awesome!! This was SO much better than the last couple of novels I've read. Really well-written, fascinating, engaging, and I learned way more about Revolutionary through Napoleonic France than I did over the course of nine years of French instruction. The author must have done SO much research; there are a ton of historical details (Napoleon complaining to his brother about Mme de Staël from his bathtub?!) that are judiciously tempered with contemporary interpretations. I am very impressed by Francine du Plessix Gray.
His letter made it clear that he was breaking off all relations with her and never wished to see her again. Thus ended the last (might some readers join the author in a sigh of relief?) of Germaine's many infatuations.
I mean, her father was Jacques Necker, a VERY IMPORTANT THING about which I had had no idea.
"Strange woman!" [Schlegel:] wrote in his diary that day. "She exerts over everything around her a kind of inexplicable but very real power. If she could govern herself, she might have governed the world."
His letter made it clear that he was breaking off all relations with her and never wished to see her again. Thus ended the last (might some readers join the author in a sigh of relief?) of Germaine's many infatuations.
I mean, her father was Jacques Necker, a VERY IMPORTANT THING about which I had had no idea.
"Strange woman!" [Schlegel:] wrote in his diary that day. "She exerts over everything around her a kind of inexplicable but very real power. If she could govern herself, she might have governed the world."
January 3, 2014
I hadn't known much about this woman short of having come across her name now and again, so when I found this book at the going-out-of-business sale of a used book store I picked it up. It's a lovely compact size book that feels good in my hands. (True book readers will understand this.)
Germaine de Stael was a politically active woman who influenced many through her literary salons and her books. She supported the ideas of the French Revolution (though not its violence) and ceaselessly opposed Napoleon Bonaparte. She was unhappy in her arranged marriage and had four children by three different fathers. She was also probably bipolar and eventually died of opium addiction at the age of 51. It's a wonder we don't hear more about women like her instead of the usual "male suspects" in history. She lived quite a life and is a prime example of the importance of educating women.
Germaine de Stael was a politically active woman who influenced many through her literary salons and her books. She supported the ideas of the French Revolution (though not its violence) and ceaselessly opposed Napoleon Bonaparte. She was unhappy in her arranged marriage and had four children by three different fathers. She was also probably bipolar and eventually died of opium addiction at the age of 51. It's a wonder we don't hear more about women like her instead of the usual "male suspects" in history. She lived quite a life and is a prime example of the importance of educating women.
November 30, 2016
Madame de Staël's epic life, as recounted by biographer Francine du Plessix Gray, who gives us a lot more personal details so that it almost reads like a very exciting novel, is brilliantly, endlessly fascinating. Madame de Staël's intelligence is honed with superior education by her passion for life. literature, philosophy, and politics. Her navigation through the upheaval and terror of the French Revolution and then, through the repression / dictatorship of the Napoleonic era is alone breathtaking.
While this edition sorely needs editing, all of those quibbles are easily put aside because this is a page-turner that I could not put down once I started it. I highly recommend it for any reader, no matter who you are, no matter what your normal reading interests are, across all genres.
While this edition sorely needs editing, all of those quibbles are easily put aside because this is a page-turner that I could not put down once I started it. I highly recommend it for any reader, no matter who you are, no matter what your normal reading interests are, across all genres.
March 21, 2010
I read this book in 67 episodes sent to me in email each day from Dailylit.com. I may have liked it better if I had read it all at once and not in 67 days. This was a brief little biography of Germaine De Stael who was involved in politics and wrote about her feelings during the French Revolution. She was not liked by Napoleon and exiled from France.She lived in many countries near France during her exiles but always had a love for Paris. Her life was filled with people surrounding her including many lovers. She died in 1817 at the age or 51. After her death, she was described as "uniquely dazzling personality, dutiful perpetually engaged political activst, and a writer with a unique dedication to her craft"
April 10, 2010
A fascinating woman in tumultuous times, scandalous sexuality, political machinations, revolution, daring escapes, absurd fashions, literary genius, secret marriages, puritans and libertines, ridicule as only 18th century Parisians could provide, even glass coffins filled with alcohol -- what's not to love? Even when de Stael's histrionics become rather tiresome, du Plessix Gray's deep admiration (and pity) for her subject remain infectious. The author brings her compelling cast of bizarre characters alive in sometimes tragic, sometimes hilarious detail and paints the epic sweep of their times in vibrant colors.
June 28, 2012
I went into this book knowing very little about Madame de Stael--she was French and a leading literary talent of her generation. I learned so much more, even though this is a very small book. Then I looked on the internet (I wanted to see pictures of the leading people in her life)and read several of the articles about her. At times I felt I was reading about two different people--the book says she was a great and good friend of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and the internet says they disliked her intensely.
Anyway, I enjoyed this quick read about a fascinating woman who certainly had her problems.
Anyway, I enjoyed this quick read about a fascinating woman who certainly had her problems.
August 25, 2015
Short and sweet introduction to a fascinating woman. I've been reading about the French Revolution in fits and starts this past year and Madame de Stael was certainly right in the thick of events as experienced by the French aristocracy. A true political animal, she created the most influential salon in Paris, where she lobbied for the ideals of the Revolution and later condemned the excesses of the Terror. Exiled by Napoleon, she travelled widely in Germany and Italy, writing best-selling novels about her experiences. The only thing missing in this portrait was a better examination of her prolific writings, which I'll have to seek out elsewhere.
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