Françoise de Graffigny was one of the most important literary figures of mid-eighteenth-century France. Her epistolary novel, the
Lettres d’une Péruvienne, was an instant best-seller and immediately translated into various European languages. She was also one of the few, perhaps the only, truly successful female playwright:
Cénieranked amongst the most successful plays of the century. Largely due to her fame as an author, her salon became one of the hubs of Enlightenment Paris, which drew the best-known writers, artists, scientists, politicians, financiers, and aristocrats. The Imperial court at Vienna accorded her patronage, the
Encyclopédiementions her in several articles, and visitors from all over Europe sought entry to her salon. Posterity has not treated her this kindly.…
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Citation: Gottmann, Felicia. "Françoise de Graffigny". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 May 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12651, accessed 31 October 2024.]