author
marquise d' Louise Florence Pétronille Tardieu d'Esclavelles Epinay
1726–1783
A lively voice from Enlightenment France, this salon host and memoirist moved among Rousseau, Diderot, and Grimm while writing with sharp intelligence of her own. Her work opens a vivid window onto literary life, friendship, and society in 18th-century Paris.
1 Audiobook
Les conversations d'Émilie
by marquise d' Louise Florence Pétronille Tardieu d'Esclavelles Epinay
About the author
Born in Valenciennes on March 11, 1726, Madame d'Épinay became a notable figure in the literary world of 18th-century France. She is often remembered for her place in the circle around Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Denis Diderot, and Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm, but she was also a writer in her own right.
She hosted a salon and took part in the lively intellectual culture of the French Enlightenment. Her name is especially linked to memoirs, letters, and other personal writings that help modern readers glimpse the ideas, relationships, and tensions of her time.
She died in Paris on April 17, 1783. Today, she remains interesting not just because of the famous people around her, but because her own writing preserves a thoughtful, personal view of a remarkable literary age.