Necker, Suzanne (1739–1794)

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Necker, Suzanne (1739–1794)

French-Swiss essayist and salonnière. Name variations: Suzanne Curchod; Mme Necker. Born Suzanne Curchod in France, 1739; died 1794; dau. of Louis Curchod (pastor); grew up near Lausanne; m. Jacques Necker (Swiss banker and French finance minister), 1764; children: Germaine de Staël (1766–1817).

Hosted a successful salon for philosophes and encyclopaedists and was prized for her honesty and intelligence; left behind some miscellaneous writings, published as Mélanges extraits des manuscrits (Various Extracts from Manuscripts, 1798) and Nouveaux Mélanges (Further Extracts, 1801); promoted the education of women and also advocated a court of women to adjudicate petitions for legal separations.

See also Women in World History.