Madame de (Claire Elisabeth Jeanne Gravier de Vergennes) Rémusat

Born in Paris on January 5, 1780, Claire Élisabeth Jeanne Gravier de Vergennes, comtesse de Rémusat, became known as Madame de Rémusat. She married young and in 1802 joined the household of Joséphine as a dame du palais, placing her at the center of one of the most dramatic courts in modern European history.

She is remembered above all for her memoirs and letters, written from direct experience of the Napoleonic world. They are valued not just for their historical detail, but for their clear, lively judgment of the people around her, especially Joséphine and Napoleon.

Madame de Rémusat died on December 16, 1821. Her reputation grew after her death, when her writings were published and recognized as an important window into French political and social life in the early nineteenth century.