French Literature Reviews - 2026
C. Berly, Trois femmes. Madame du Deffand, Madame Roland, Madame Vigée Le Brun
Writers: Biography, Letters and Memoirs
Cécile BERLY
Trois femmes. Madame du Deffand, Madame Roland, Madame Vigée Le Brun
ed. Passés composés
ISBN 978-2-3793-3221-0
Published 03/03/2020
Pages 192 pages
Format 14 x 20
Price 17 €
The 18th century was the age of self-writing. The salon hostess Madame du Deffand (1696-1780) wrote primarily to escape her boredom, a true malady of the soul. Steeped in aristocratic, worldly culture, she embodied both the most frivolous and the most melancholic aspects of Old Regime society. Madame Roland (1754-1793), on the other hand, wrote about sentiment, politics, and the Revolution. Nurtured on philosophy, she was an idealist in everything: in friendship, in love, and even in politics. Finally, Madame Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842) wrote to compose her Memoirs, to "craft" them, and in short, to paint through other means, possessing a near-innate sense of composition.
With her brisk and sensitive prose, Cécile Berly recounts the journeys of these women of letters—salonnière, bourgeois, and artist—through their three complementary epistolary worlds. She offers a distinctly feminine vision of the 18th century, presenting a true history woven from feathers, ink, and paper.
The eighteenth century in France was a period of literary production and evolving social roles, associated with salons and the emergence of autobiographical and epistolary writing. During this era, women from various social backgrounds actively shaped cultural life through conversation, correspondence, and artistic creation, engaging with the philosophical and political currents of their time.
Readers interested in eighteenth-century French literature, women's history, and epistolary practices may find this work relevant to their pursuits. Cécile Berly recounts the journeys of Madame du Deffand, Madame Roland, and Madame Vigée Le Brun. Madame du Deffand wrote primarily to escape her boredom and embodied aristocratic, worldly culture. Madame Roland wrote about sentiment, politics, and the Revolution, while Madame Vigée Le Brun wrote to compose her memoirs and to paint through other means.