Les femmes illustres, ou, Les harangues heroïques

Les femmes illustres, ou, Les harangues heroïques

French philosopher Madeleine de Scudéry was a prolific writer. Her novels and books were published under her brother’s name. She embraced philosophical dialogue as a means to explore questions of gender, sexuality, education, and power. Scudéry was dismissed by her male contemporaries, and later critics focused on her salons rather than her philosophical contributions. Her life, work, and diatribes defending women’s right to exercise political authority are receiving new consideration by modern scholars. The strong image on this engraved title page certainly reflects her response to the querelle des femmes.

Scudéry, Madeleine de

Paris: Chez Antoine de Sommaville & Augustin Courbé

1644

Cameron DeChurch

Duke University Libraries

Engraved title page

French and Latin

Title page

Lisa Unger Baskin Collection, Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.