54:, the illegitimate daughter of Julie-Claude-Hilaire d’Albon, who was the sole heir of an old family. Her mother, who was married to the Comte d'Albon, separated from her husband at the time of her birth, and the baby was baptized as the daughter of two fictitious persons, 'Claude Lespinasse' and his wife 'Julie Navarre'. The mystery of who her father really was did not get cleared up until her first careful biographer, the Marquis de Ségur (Pierre Marie Maurice Henri marquis de Ségur, 1853-1916), established that she was the daughter of Gaspard de Vichy-Chamrond, whose sister,
367:
99:. Although she had neither wealth nor rank and was not an outstanding beauty, Mlle de Lespinasse had intellect, charm, and ability as a hostess, qualities that made her salon gatherings the most popular in Paris. Her continuing notability is due less to her social success, however, than to a literary talent that remained a secret during her lifetime, even from her closest friends.
434:
78:
Julie moved into Mme du
Deffand's apartments in the Convent of St. Joseph, where Mme du Deffand's salon attracted diplomats, aristocrats, philosophers, and politicians. The relationship lasted ten years until 1764, when Mme du Deffand became jealous of the younger woman's increasing influence with
65:
had an unhappy childhood marked by neglect. She acquired a basic education at a convent, but she was largely self-educated, an impressive feat given that she was later able to hold her own among France's top intellectuals. In 1754, Madame du
Deffand, who recognized her niece's extraordinary gifts,
182:
By early 1776, Mlle de
Lespinasse was in a state of mental and physical collapse, apparently caused by the misery of her relationship with Guibert. She had earlier shown depressive tendencies and a consequent dependence on opium may have aggravated her breakdown. On her deathbed, she refused to
173:
Soon after the
Marquis de Mora returned to Spain, Mlle de Lespinasse became acquainted with the man who would become the main passion of her life, the Comte de Guibert, then a colonel. Her letters to Guibert began in 1773 and soon record her as torn between her affection for Mora and her new
326:
states that she initially left the convent to become governess to the
Marquise de Vichy, "her mother’s legitimate daughter." It is unclear how this legitimate daughter might have been related to Gaspard de Vichy-Chamrond, Mlle de Lespinasse's real father. See
86:
became a close friend, joined her new salon, and eventually came to live in her house, although they were not romantically involved. This arrangement lent further influence to Mlle de
Lespinasse's salon, which became a center for writers of the
152:
Mlle de
Lespinasse first met the Marquis de Mora about two years after establishing her own salon. Encountering him again two years later, she fell in love with him, and he fully returned her feelings. He began to suffer symptoms of
183:
receive
Guibert and instead, was watched over by her friend d'Alembert. She died on 22 May 1776 in Paris at the age of 43, possibly of tuberculosis. Her last words are said to have been "Am I still alive?"
121:(the latter now believed to be epistolary fiction rather than real letters). Other writers, focusing on her theme of passionate love rather than on genre, place her work alongside that of novelists such as
382:
157:, however, and returned to Spain for his health. Mlle de Lespinasse's letters reveal the pain she experienced from the separation and her anxiety over Mora's poor health. On the way back to
133:
195:
in 1809, a spurious additional collection appeared in 1820. Some later editions included a portrait of her written by her friend d'Alembert. Modern editions include that of
55:
424:
82:
Mlle de
Lespinasse then set up a salon of her own that attracted many of the same people who had attended Mme du Deffand's salon. The mathematician and writer
492:
387:
137:
487:
132:
Mlle de
Lespinasse's letters center on her great and thwarted love for two men: Don José María Pignatelli y Gonzaga, Marquis de Mora, who was the son of
174:
infatuation. Later letters describe her partial disenchantment occasioned by Guibert's marriage to another woman in 1775 and her increasing despair.
20:
477:
42:. She is best-known today, however, for her letters, first published in 1809, which offer compelling accounts of two tragic love affairs.
107:
Two volumes of Mlle de Lespinasse's letters, first published in 1809, displayed her as a writer of rare intensity. The literary critic
140:, a French general and writer. Less dispassionately philosophical than those by such later eighteenth century letter writers as
232:
497:
122:
482:
457:
108:
112:
117:
472:
83:
95:
201:
Lettres inédités de Mademoiselle de Lespinasse à Condorcet, à D'Alembert, à Guibert, au comte de Crillon
126:
467:
462:
425:"Women in Love: Gluck's Orpheus as a Source of Romantic Consolation in Vienna, Paris, and Stockholm."
93:. Diderot, for example, made her a protagonist of his controversial philosophical dialogues entitled
39:
30:(9 November 1732 – 23 May 1776) was a French salon holder and letter writer. She held a prominent
196:
144:, they offer a portrait of someone who saw herself as a tragic heroine sacrificing all for love.
240:
227:
31:
439:
328:
211:
141:
89:
420:. Translated from the French by P. H. Lee Warner. Henry Holt & Co., New York, 1907.
451:
378:
373:
161:
in 1774 to fulfill promises exchanged with Mlle de Lespinasse, the marquis died at
154:
19:
210:, she was the author of two unpublished chapters intended as a kind of sequel to
429:
314:, trans. Katharine Prescott Wormeley. Boston: Hardy, Pratt & Co., 1902.
162:
391:. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 494.
372:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
158:
79:
the younger generation of salon attendees and a quarrel resulted.
67:
35:
18:
236:
is said to owe something to the character of Mlle de Lespinasse.
416:
Segur, Marquis de (Pierre Marie Maurice Henri, comte de Segur).
203:, contains copies of the documents available for her biography.
51:
349:
The Enlightenment: History, Documents, and Key Questions
310:
D'Alembert, Jean. "Portrait of Mlle. de Lespinasse". In
191:
Following the first publication of Mlle de Lespinasse's
284:
Sartori, Eva Martin, and Dorothy Wynne Zimmerman, eds.
199:(1876–77). An 1887 collection edited M. Charles Henry,
61:
Looked down on for her poverty and illegitimate birth,
56:Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du Deffand
411:The Double Heart: A Study of Julie de Lespinasse
245:The Double Heart: A Study of Julie de Lespinasse
50:Julie-Jeanne-Éléonore de Lespinasse was born in
8:
418:Julie de Lespinasse By the Marquis de Segur
138:Jacques-Antoine-Hippolyte, Comte de Guibert
343:
341:
256:
16:French salon-holder, writer (1732–1779)
280:
306:
304:
302:
300:
298:
296:
294:
278:
276:
274:
272:
270:
268:
266:
264:
262:
260:
7:
383:Lespinasse, Jeanne Julie Éléonore de
136:, Spanish ambassador in Paris, and
28:Jeanne Julie Éléonore de Lespinasse
493:18th-century French letter writers
226:Julie Le Breton, a protagonist in
14:
488:18th-century French women writers
243:wrote a well-received biography,
432:
365:
111:ranks her letters with those by
169:Letters to the Comte de Guibert
312:Letters of Mlle. de Lespinasse
148:Letters to the Marquis de Mora
1:
351:, pp. 5, 103. ABC-CLIO, 2015.
109:Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve
58:, ran a famous Paris salon.
478:18th-century French writers
118:Letters of a Portuguese Nun
514:
66:persuaded her to come to
388:Encyclopædia Britannica
333:Encyclopædia Britannica
324:Encyclopædia Britannica
84:Jean le Rond d'Alembert
24:
498:Socialites from Paris
329:"Julie de Lespinasse"
127:Jean-Jacques Rousseau
22:
483:Women letter writers
458:French salon-holders
409:Royde-Smith, Naomi.
286:French Women Writers
251:Notes and references
233:Lady Rose's Daughter
397:Biographical Essays
216:Sentimental Journey
206:In addition to the
23:Julie de Lespinasse
395:Strachey, Lytton.
347:Burns, William E.
222:In popular culture
165:at the age of 30.
134:Joaquín Pignatelli
96:D'Alembert's Dream
70:as her companion.
63:Mlle de Lespinasse
25:
473:Writers from Lyon
241:Naomi Royde-Smith
228:Mary Augusta Ward
505:
442:
440:Biography portal
437:
436:
435:
392:
371:
369:
368:
352:
345:
336:
321:
315:
308:
289:
282:
513:
512:
508:
507:
506:
504:
503:
502:
448:
447:
438:
433:
431:
423:Rice, John A.,
406:
404:Further reading
381:, ed. (1911). "
377:
366:
364:
361:
356:
355:
346:
339:
322:
318:
309:
292:
283:
258:
253:
224:
212:Laurence Sterne
189:
180:
171:
150:
142:Madame de Stael
105:
76:
48:
17:
12:
11:
5:
511:
509:
501:
500:
495:
490:
485:
480:
475:
470:
465:
460:
450:
449:
444:
443:
428:
427:
421:
414:
405:
402:
401:
400:
393:
379:Chisholm, Hugh
360:
357:
354:
353:
337:
316:
290:
255:
254:
252:
249:
223:
220:
188:
185:
179:
176:
170:
167:
149:
146:
104:
101:
75:
72:
47:
44:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
510:
499:
496:
494:
491:
489:
486:
484:
481:
479:
476:
474:
471:
469:
466:
464:
461:
459:
456:
455:
453:
446:
441:
430:
426:
422:
419:
415:
412:
408:
407:
403:
398:
394:
390:
389:
384:
380:
375:
374:public domain
363:
362:
358:
350:
344:
342:
338:
334:
330:
325:
320:
317:
313:
307:
305:
303:
301:
299:
297:
295:
291:
287:
281:
279:
277:
275:
273:
271:
269:
267:
265:
263:
261:
257:
250:
248:
246:
242:
239:The novelist
237:
235:
234:
229:
221:
219:
217:
213:
209:
204:
202:
198:
194:
186:
184:
177:
175:
168:
166:
164:
160:
156:
147:
145:
143:
139:
135:
130:
128:
124:
120:
119:
115:and with the
114:
110:
102:
100:
98:
97:
92:
91:
85:
80:
73:
71:
69:
64:
59:
57:
53:
45:
43:
41:
40:Enlightenment
37:
33:
29:
21:
445:
417:
410:
396:
386:
359:Bibliography
348:
332:
323:
319:
311:
285:
244:
238:
231:
225:
215:
207:
205:
200:
192:
190:
187:Publications
181:
172:
155:tuberculosis
151:
131:
123:Abbé Prévost
116:
106:
94:
90:Encyclopédie
88:
81:
77:
62:
60:
49:
27:
26:
468:1776 deaths
463:1732 births
197:Eugène Asse
38:during the
452:Categories
74:The salons
46:Early life
331:entry in
230:'s novel
247:(1931).
163:Bordeaux
413:. 1931.
376::
208:Letters
193:Letters
113:Héloïse
103:Letters
370:
178:Death
159:Paris
68:Paris
36:Paris
32:salon
125:and
52:Lyon
385:".
214:'s
34:in
454::
340:^
293:^
259:^
218:.
129:.
399:.
335:.
288:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
