17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Never quite lives up to its promise..., November 4, 2008
This review is from: Madame de Stael: The First Modern Woman (Hardcover)
Francine du Plessix Gray is a wonderful author and biographer with an encylopaedic knowledge of literary France from the Englightenment up to the modern era. Her biography of Louise Colet -- Flaubert's muse -- is unique and stunningly good.
So I picked up this slim volume about Germaine de Stael with much anticipation. Alas... Whether it is the limitation imposed by length (doing a disservice to this forceful woman, one of the only people other than the Duke of Wellington to become a true bane to the existence of Napoleon Bonaparte) or simply a view that her works didn't really stand the test of time, du Plessix Gray has given short shrift to her subject, the only child of Louis XVI's most crucial minister, Jacques Necker.
Germaine de Stael knew the world of Versailles, launched her own salon and thrived in the earliest days of the revolution, partly shielded from the furor by her marriage to a Swedish diplomat. The marriage was a disaster, so de Stael promptly did what any self-respecting 21st century woman would do, and took a string of lovers, including noted philosophe Benjamin Constant.
But is it her sexual freedom that wins her the title of "the first modern woman" from her biographer? It's unclear, because du Plessix Gray never elaborates on this, the central premise of the book. What makes a modern woman and which of those characteristics did de Stael possess? I found myself looking for the answers to both questions throughout the book -- and failed to find any hints to definitive answers. Women had crafted literary careers before de Stael (rarely and not always successfully -- but figures like Aphra Behn and Fanny Burney certainly existed). She was financially independent, also - but it's unclear how much of her financial resources came from her family or lovers. She was certainly political -- although it isn't until midway through the book that du Plessix Gray sheds much light (except very indirectly) on the nature her political views or how they were formed. Her greatest work, perhaps, was her tome on the French Revolution, which takes a definite back seat to an endless recounting of her amorous escapades. It's hard to digest the facts of her endless quarrels of Napoleon and the accounts of her exile and travels that resulted from these, without really understanding her political philosophy.
One added note: du Plessix Gray refers to the mysterious parentage of de Stael's first lover, Narbonne -- rumored to be a son of Louis XV. Du Plessix Gray refers to this making him the brother of the executed Louis XVI -- a blatant error; Louis XV was the grandfather of Louis XVI. I realize this is being very picky, but it's an odd mistake for this particular author to make.
But the bigger question that still lingers is what made Germaine de Stael the first modern woman rather than -- say -- Cleopatra? or Veronica Franco? or Mary Wortley Montagu? The book's title makes a bold claim and there is perhaps a powerful case to build in favor of it. Alas, du Plessix Gray, while offering a well-crafted and solid enough introduction to her subject, fails to make the leap. And surely Germaine de Stael, with all her flamboyance, independence and creativity, deserves an answer.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Fine Popular Biography, June 27, 2009
This review is from: Madame de Stael: The First Modern Woman (Hardcover)
In Madame de Stael, author Francine du Plessix Gray has written a short biography of a fascinating woman. Germaine de Stael was the daughter of Jacques Necker, the finance minister of Louis XVI. Arguably the richest woman in the Europe of her time, she moved and shook the highest centers of power - Napoleon Bonaparte was her sworn enemy - created legendary salons that attracted the best and brightest, wrote novels and essays that were praised by the literary elite, and attracted to herself innumerable actual and would-be lovers; her fascination was due not to her physical appearance (large, and awkward), but rather, like Cleopatra of Egypt, to the unstoppable force of her conversation and her larger-than-life personality.
It is probably fair to say that most Americans (unlike, perhaps, most Europeans) have only a vague idea, if any, about this fascinating and important person. For them, Gray's biography is a more than competent introduction; although quite short (paperback size and length, bibliography and notes, no index), the author delivers an incisive and interesting-to-read look at Germaine's public and private lives. It is true, though, that Gray's book runs up against the more scholarly 2002 biography of Madame de Stael by J. C. Herold (also available through Amazon.com, and appropriately acknowledged by Gray in her own book).
In this case, a recommendation is easy. If you don't know much about Madame de Stael, Gray's book would be the first choice; you can always fill in the details later with Herold. If you already know about de Stael, it is still worth skimming through Gray for her aphoristic but telling insights into Stael's character and milieu.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
Derivative and poorly written, November 28, 2011
This review is from: Madame de Stael: The First Modern Woman (Hardcover)
I don't see any point to the existence of this book. It's cobbled together from earlier, more scholarly sources, above all the biography by Christopher Herold... which IS well written. It gushes, it assumes, it's shallow. Perhaps the "first modern woman" subtitle was a selling point for the publisher; but don't waste your time on it. I read it all the way through, but I regret it.
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