Madame de La Fayette
1634–1693
Biography
Marie-Madeleine de La Fayette was born in Paris in 1634 and died there in 1693. She took the title of Comtesse de La Fayette by marriage, and she kept a salon in Paris where writers and courtiers met. Her close friendship with the moralist François de La Rochefoucauld is one of the best-known connections of her life.
She is known as the author of La Princesse de Clèves, published in 1678, which is often called France’s first historical novel and one of the earliest novels in the language. Its story is set at the court of Henri II in the 1550s and follows a married woman’s struggle with a love she refuses to act on. Its close attention to inner conflict, rather than to adventure, set it apart from the long romances that were fashionable at the time, and it helped to shape the psychological novel that followed.
The catalogue holds La princesse de Clèves, the book that secures her place in literary history. It is the natural starting point for anyone who wants to see her work for themselves.
This biography was written by a language model. The sources below are where to check it; treat details with care.
Books
La princesse de Clèves
by Madame de La Fayette
La Princesse de Clèves is a French novel which was published anonymously in March 1678. It was regarded by many as the beginning of the modern tradition of the psychological novel and a classic work. Its author is generally held to be Madame de La Fayette.
Summary from Wikipedia: La Princesse de Clèves (CC BY-SA 4.0)