Sévigné, Marquise de

Sévigné, Marquise de

 orig. Marie de Rabutin-Chantal

(born Feb. 5, 1626, Paris, France—died April 17, 1696, Grignan) French writer. Of old Burgundian nobility, she was well educated and moved in court society in Paris after her marriage in 1644. She was devoted to her children, and, after her daughter married and moved to Provence, she began writing letters to her, without literary intention, that recounted events, described people and details of daily life, and commented on many topics. The stories and gossip in the 1,700 letters of this correspondence, related in a natural, spontaneous tone, provide a vivid picture of the 17th-century French aristocracy.