Graffigny, Françoise de (1695–1758)

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Graffigny, Françoise de (1695–1758)

French novelist and playwright. Name variations: Francoise de Grafigny. Born Françoise d'Issembourg d' Happoncourt, Feb 13, 1695, in Nancy, France; died Dec 12, 1758, in Paris; dau. of an officer in the Duke of Lorraine's gendarmerie; married and separated.

Suffered abuse in marriage and sought refuge with Émilie du Châtelet and Voltaire after husband's imprisonment for violence against her; her Lettres d'une Péruvienne represent an important development in the epistolary novel; other writings include Le mauvais exemple, nouvelle espagnole (1745), Lettres d'une Péruvienne (1747), Ziman et Zenise, comédie (1749), Cénie (1751), La Fille d'Astride (1759) and Vie privée de Voltaire et de Mme du Châtelet (1820).

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