Madeleine de Scudéry

Madeleine de Scudéry (1607-1701), French novelist, one of the most popular authors of her time, whose principal works are lengthy, sentimental novels. Born in Le Havre, she was raised by her uncle after her parents died. She later moved to Paris and became part of the literary salon (a private gathering of writers and intellectuals) hosted by Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet. Scudéry eventually hosted her own literary salon.

Scudéry's major works are the novels Artamène, ou le grand Cyrus (Artamene, or Cyrus the Great, 10 volumes, 1649-1653) and Clélie, histoire romaine (Clelie, Roman Tale, 10 volumes, 1654-1660). Scudéry wrote these novels in the literary style known as preciosity, which emphasized refinement in language over coarseness. In addition, adherents to preciosity worked, in their gatherings at literary salons and in their writings, to give women increased control over their lives. Preciosity played an important role in fostering the tendency toward psychological realism that would later become prominent in French fiction. Although preciosity became popular in the mid-17th century, its adherents and their beliefs were also mocked as pretentious by other French writers of the time, including Molière and Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux.