author
marquise de Marie de Rabutin-Chantal Sévigné
1626–1696
Celebrated for sparkling, deeply personal letters, this 17th-century French aristocrat turned everyday family news, court gossip, and sharp observation into enduring literature. Her correspondence offers one of the liveliest windows into life in the age of Louis XIV.
2 Audiobooks
Lettres de Madame de Sévigné Précédées d'une notice sur sa vie et du traité sur le style épistolaire de Madame de Sévigné
by marquise de Marie de Rabutin-Chantal Sévigné
The letters of Madame de Sévigné : To her daughter and friends
by marquise de Marie de Rabutin-Chantal Sévigné
About the author
Born in Paris in 1626, Madame de Sévigné was a French aristocrat and writer whose letters became classics of French literature. Reliable reference sources describe her as Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, and note that she was orphaned young and raised by her uncle.
She is best remembered for her large body of correspondence, especially the letters she wrote to her daughter, Françoise-Marguerite. Readers have long valued them for their wit, vivid storytelling, and the way they capture both private feeling and the social world of 17th-century France.
Sévigné died in 1696 at Grignan. Although she did not set out to build a literary career in the modern sense, her letters have given her a lasting place as one of the most beloved voices in French prose.