Madame De Stael Pa

Of political and intellectual prominence, the daughter of Jacques Necker and the wife of Sweden's ambassador to the French court, Madame de Staël held the limelight as a philosopher, political figure, and prolific writer. She was demonized by Napoleon for her forthrightness, her intellect, and her progressive salon. Force of nature and ultimate enthusiast, Madame de Staël struggled against all that was tyrannical or passionless in her time, leaving Europe a legacy of enlightened liberalism.

Francine du Plessix Gray is the author of Them: A Memoir of Parents, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award; At Home with the Marquis de Sade, nominated for the Pulitzer Prize; and numerous other works. She lives in Warren, Connecticut.