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Bella Duffy
1845–1926
An Irish-born writer who made Italy her subject, she moved from fiction into lively historical and biographical works after her first novel. She is also remembered for her long friendship with Vernon Lee and for books that brought European cultural history to a broad readership.
1 Audiobook
Madame de Staël
by Bella Duffy
About the author
Born in Ireland as Arabella Jane Duffy, she spent much of her life in Florence and became closely connected with literary and artistic circles there. In 1880 she met the writer Vernon Lee, and the two remained lifelong friends.
After publishing her only novel, Winifred Power (1883), she turned mainly to nonfiction. Her later books included a biography of Madame de Staël and The Tuscan Republics, works that show her strong interest in European history, culture, and place.
She never married and died in London in 1926. Although she is not widely known today, her writing offers a thoughtful link between Irish literary life and the intellectual world of late 19th-century Italy.