Tencin, Claudine Alexandrine Guérin de (1685–1749)

views updated

Tencin, Claudine Alexandrine Guérin de (1685–1749)

French writer and salonnièe. Name variations: Madame de Tencin; Marquise de Tencin. Born 1685; died 1749; sister of Madame de Ferriol; mistress of Philippe II also known as Philip or Philippe Bourbon-Orleans (1674–1723), 2nd duke of Orléans and regent for Louis XV (1710–1774), king of France (r. 1715–1774); children: illeg. son, Jean Le Rond d'Alembert (1717–1783), was the famous editor of the Encyclopédie.

Audacious and ambitious, liberal and déclassé society leader who was famed for organizing the notorious fêtes at Saint-Cloud; fond of intrigue, highly intelligent, and imaginative, held the 1st salon where writers and artists were elevated to the same status as aristocrats (Fontenelle, Marivaux, Montesquieu, Chesterfield, and Grimm were among those who frequented).

See also Women in World History.