Emilie du Chatelet : Daring Genius of the Enlightenment

by Zinsser, Judith P. (Author)

• ISBN13: 9780143112686
• ISBN10: 0143112686
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-11-27
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Summary

The captivating biography of the French aristocrat who balanced the demands of her society with passionate affairs of the heart and a brilliant life of the mind Although today she is best known for her fifteen-year liaison with Voltaire, Gabrielle Emilie le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise Du Ch'telet (1706–1749) was more than a great man’s mistress. After marrying a marquis at the age of eighteen, she proceeded to fulfill the prescribed—and delightfully frivolous—role of a French noblewoman of her time. But she also challenged it, conducting a highly visible affair with a commoner, writing philosophical works, and translating Newton’s Principiawhile pregnant by a younger lover. With the sweep of Galileo’s Daughter, Emilie Du Ch'telet captures the charm, glamour, and brilliance of this magnetic woman.

Author Biography

Judith P. Zinsser is a professor of history at Miami University in Ohio. She is coauthor of the acclaimed A History of Their Own and author of History and Feminism.

Table of Contents

Prologue: 1749	p. 1
December 1706-June 1735
The Families: Daughter and Wife	p. 13
Daughter to the Baron de Breteuil
Daughter 10 Gabrielle Anne de Froullay, Baronne de Breteuil
A New Hypothesis
Betrothal and Marriage to the Marquis Du Chatelet-Lomont
Family and Children
Households and Finances
"Les Choses Frivoles"
Victor Esprit
The Republic of Letters: The Prodigy	p. 62
The Meeting
The Prodigy and the Mathematicians
The Courtship: 1733-34
Voltaire in Danger: April 1734
The Decision: June 1735
July 1735-March 1741
"Mon Academie": Chatelaine of Cirey	p. 105
The Duties of a Chatelaine
"Paradise on Earth"
"Storms in Paradise"
Collaboration on the Traite de metaphysique
Co-autbor of the Elements de la philosophie de Newton
An Independent Reputation: Geometre and Physicien	p. 152
Experiments with Fire
Publication in the Republic of Letters
Institutions de Physique
Challenges and Victory
April 1741-September 1749
Philosophe and Courtier: "Uranie" and Breteuil Du Chatelet	p. 199
Challenges of New Varieties: 1741-42
Recognition as a Philosophe: "Uranie" The Examens de la Bible
A Courtier at Versailles and Fontainebleau
Success for the Family: Breteuil Du Chatelet
Advancing Voltaire's Career and Winning the Prize
The Woman of Passions and the Historians: "La Divine Emilie"	p. 240
Translating Newton's Principia
Voltaire's Changes of Heart
The Commentaire on Newton's "System of the World"
From Versailles to Sceaux to Luneville
The Grand Passion of a Lifetime
"To Risk All for All"
Death and Memory
Epilogue: 2006	p. 286
Acknowledgments	p. 293
Notes	p. 296
Bibliography	p. 352
Index	p. 366
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