Book Description

Excerpt from Letters of Mlle De Lespinasse: With Notes on Her Life and Character The claims of Mlle. De Lespinasse to the attention of poster ity are positive and durable. At the moment of her death she was universally regretted, as having, without name, without fortune, without beauty, created for herself the salon most in vogue, most eagerly frequented at an epoch which counted so many that were brilliant. Still, this flattering chorus of regrets given to the memory of the friend of d'alembert would have left but a vague and presently receding idea of her, if the publication of her Letters, made in 1809, had not revealed her under an aspect wholly different, and shown, no longer the charming person dear to society, but the woman Of heart and passion, the burning and self-consuming victim. This volume of Letters from Mlle. De Lespinasse to the Comte de Guibert is one of the most curious and most memorable monuments to passion. In 1820 another volume, under the title of N ouveaux Lettres de Mlle. De Lespinasse, was published, which is not hers; it is unworthy of her mind and of her heart; being as flat and insipid as the other is distinguished, or, to say it better, unique. I beg my read ers not to confound that volume of 1820 (a Speculation and fabrication of publishers) with the Letters given to the world in 1809, the only ones that deserve confidence, and of which I desire to speak. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.