This incredible noblewoman wrote over 1100 letters in her life - not postcards or little Hallmark witties, but genuine, full-bodied, multi-page letters full of politics, wit, motherly advice and fashion sense. She lived during the mid 1600s and was at the French court of the Sun King, Louis the XIV. Her own life was not particularly unique or exciting, but her letters give modern scholars a clear, personal picture of life at court during the era.
I read a book of her selected letters when I was a teen, and I was mesmerized by her descriptions and her wit. It formed in my mind that what I really wanted to be was a professional letter writer, to emulate her life of leisured documentation — a desire that is still with me to this day. Of course there is no such thing as a professional letter writer, so perhaps Madame has led me astray; but few other writers have influenced my own style or aspirations as much as she has. And oh! The clothes! Her letters are definitely an acquired taste, but worth acquiring. Anyone who enjoyed Dumas' The Three Musketeers (as I did) and who has a bizarre soft spot for mid-17th century France should definitely track down her work.
