New Observations on the French Language, with Praises of Illustrious Learned Women

Marguerite Buffet was a French gentlewoman and teacher who lived in 17th-century Paris. Her two volumes, published in English for the first time, offer a rare glimpse into the life, habits, and culture of 17th-century France. Buffets New Observations on the French Language provides examples of correct language use and encourages women to aspire to higher intellectual achievement. Her Praises of Illustrious Learned Women is a catalog of biographies of women who displayed exemplary intellect, wit, and conversation, including many of her contemporaries. This volume presents Buffets work in its near entirety for the first time in English, highlighting her unique contribution to the querelle des femmes debate.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 164 pages
Publication date: 07 September 2023
Publisher: Iter Press

Marguerite Buffet, a seventeenth-century French gentlewoman and teacher, published two volumes in English for the first time. Buffets life in seventeenth-century Paris, where she taught French to aristocratic women, is documented in historical records. Her work, New Observations on the French Language, provides a rare glimpse into the life, habits, and culture of seventeenth-century France. She offers examples of correct expressions for speaking and writing, while encouraging women to aspire to higher intellectual achievements. Additionally, her Praises of Illustrious Learned Women, a catalog of biographies of women who displayed exemplary intellect, wit, and conversation, includes contemporaries such as Anna Maria van Schurman and Madeleine de Scudéry. Buffets collection of praises of these women, many of whom were connected to the court of Louis XIV, showcases her unique position as both a participant in and historian of the intellectual and social world of the French salon. This volume presents Buffets work in its near entirety for the first time in English, shedding light on her unique contribution to the centuries-long debate concerning the status of women known as the querelle des femmes.

Dimension: 9 x 6 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781649590817