C. E. (Charlotte Elisabeth) Aïssé

Born around 1693 or 1694 in Circassia, Charlotte-Élisabeth Aïssé was brought to France as a child and later placed in the household of Madame de Ferriol. She grew up within high society but remained, in many ways, an outsider, and that perspective gives her writing much of its special character.

Aïssé is best remembered for her Letters, written to a close friend and published after her death. They are valued for their lively picture of early 18th-century French society and for the way they combine intelligence, wit, and deeply felt personal reflection. Readers often come to her for the social detail and stay for the voice: candid, graceful, and very human.

She died in Paris on March 13, 1733. Although she left behind a relatively small body of work, her letters have kept her reputation alive as a memorable literary figure of the period.