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Claudine de Tencin
b. 1682, Grenoble, France; d. 1749, Paris
Claudine de Tencin was a salon hostess, writer, and literary patroness who had close associations with prominent literary and political figures. For a short period early in her life, Tencin was a nun but renounced her vows. She had numerous lovers and was even accused of murder, of which she was cleared through the help of her brother, an archbishop. After her release from the Bastille, she established a salon that was frequented by the philosopher Montesquieu, as well as other significant thinkers. In addition to her influential social position, Tencin penned the autobiographical novel Mémoires du comte de Comminges (1735).
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