Ninon de l'Enclos and her century

Ninon de L'Enclos was born in Paris in 1615 to a strikingly mismatched couple: a devout, retiring mother who hoped her daughter would take vows, and a flamboyant father who reveled in duels, books, and the pleasures of court life. Their marriage, a convenience rather than a romance, left the young Ninon to choose between cloistered devotion and the vibrant world her father admired. Rejecting the convent long before she could enter it, she swapped prayer books for romantic tales, already signaling a fierce independence.

In her formative years her father took charge of her education, introducing her to the essays of Montaigne, the wit of Molière, and the daring ideas of the Renaissance. This unconventional upbringing nurtured a sharp intellect and a love of liberty that would later draw the brightest minds of the era to her salon. Listeners will discover how Ninon's early defiance and cultivated charm set the stage for a remarkable life that challenged the strictures of her time.