Nicolas Chorier

Born in Vienne, France, in 1612, Nicolas Chorier studied law and built a career as a lawyer before becoming known as a man of letters. He wrote historical works focused on the Dauphiné region, including substantial studies of its history and notable figures.

Chorier is also closely associated with L'Académie des dames (also known in Latin as Aloisiae Sigaeae Toletanae Satyra Sotadica), an erotic dialogue that circulated under a false attribution for many years. That book gave him a lasting, controversial reputation, even though his wider body of work was much more grounded in legal and regional historical writing.

He died in 1692. Today, he tends to be remembered both as a serious regional historian and as a writer whose name became tied to one of the most infamous clandestine books of early modern France.