If a woman had a very famous husband, her own name was easily overlooked. People would only refer to her as so-and-so's wife.
Another kind of woman was famous in her own right, like Madame du Barry and Madame de Pompadour. Madame de Pompadour had also read The Spirit of the Laws, written by Montesquieu. Just by having read that book, she was already held in higher regard than those women in Louis XV's harem who only knew how to powder their faces.
Madame Geoffrin's salon on Rue Saint-Honoré was one of the most famous salons of its time. Her guests were admitted not by birth, wealth, or power, but by intellect alone. Even towering figures like Richelieu, who had once held immense power, found it difficult to receive an invitation.
Montesquieu, however, was one of her honored guests. Voltaire, d'Alembert, Catherine the Great, the King of Sweden, and others had also been invited by Madame Geoffrin. Yet now, almost no one remembered that once-renowned hostess. The new star of society was Madame de Staël, whom Napoleon hated most and had expelled from the country.
Madame de Staël had certainly read Rousseau. She had even written an article titled "On the Character and Works of Rousseau."
Not every female writer or scholar shared her belief that I won't marry without love. Life required money. Montesquieu had left behind a rich cultural legacy, but he had no copyrights. And Napoleon Bonaparte happened to need someone to manage his "harem" like a court steward, so Madame de Montesquieu arrived.
Montesquieu had once written in his books that lands came in three kinds: wheat-growing regions were poor; wine-growing regions were populous and poor; livestock-raising regions were sparsely populated and rich.
Marne was a picturesque place. Many castles could be seen along the road,