Ninon de L’Enclos

Ninon de Lenclos was a courtesan and intellectual who was well versed in Epicurean philosophy. Her salon included significant thinkers in literary and political circles. In 1656, her lack of religious faith prompted Anne of Austria (mother of King Louis XIV) to send her to a convent, but she was allowed to return to Paris after a short period. She wrote the book La coquette vengée (The Coquette Avenged, 1659) as a response to this attack on her behavior and philosophical beliefs.