Lettres de Mmes. de Villars, de Coulanges et de La Fayette, de Ninon de L'Enclos et de Mademoiselle Aïssé accompagnées de notices bibliographiques, de notes explicatives par Louis-Simon Auger

C. E. (Charlotte Elisabeth) Aïssé

d. 1733

Best known for a vivid collection of letters, this early 18th-century French writer lived a life as dramatic as any novel. Brought from the Caucasus to France as a child, she later became a striking voice of feeling, wit, and social observation.

Marie-Angélique Du Gué Bagnoles Coulanges

1641–1723

A sharp-witted French letter writer from the circle of Madame de Sévigné, she is remembered for the lively spirit and social sparkle of her correspondence. Her surviving letters offer a glimpse of conversation, manners, and literary life in seventeenth-century France.

Madame de (Marie-Madeleine Pioche de La Vergne) La Fayette

1634–1693

A sharp observer of courtly love and human motives, this 17th-century French writer helped shape the modern novel. Her best-known work, La Princesse de Clèves, is still admired for its emotional precision and quiet intensity.

Ninon de Lenclos

1620–1705

A sharp-minded Parisian salon host, letter writer, and patron of the arts, she became one of the most talked-about women of 17th-century France. Her life and writings still stand out for their wit, independence, and refusal to live by the usual rules.