Ninon de Lenclos made a career in literature at a time when the terms of that career were still being set.
The record lists Ninon de Lenclos as French author, courtesan, freethinker, and patron of the arts (1620-1705).
Ninon de Lenclos was born at Paris in 1620. Her recorded nationality is France.
The seventeenth century built the machinery of public intellectual life - societies, journals, correspondence networks - and reputations could be made at a distance.
She worked as salonnière, writer and patron of the arts.
Literature is judged by re-reading, which is a slower and harsher test than acclaim.
Working from France shaped what was possible - the audiences within reach, the institutions that would have her, the language the work first appeared in.
Ninon de Lenclos died in 1705, aged 85. What survives is the work, which is the only durable form of a reputation.
Achievements
- Worked as salonnière, writer and patron of the arts
