ABSTRACT
AmongthepublicobserversofHortenseandMarieMancini'sreallife adventuresinthelate1660swasthewriterMarie-CatherineHortense Desjardins,alsoknownasMadamedeVilledieu(1640?-83).Anambitiousand iconoclasticliteraryfigure,likeherfriendHortenseMancinishewasalso identifiedasanaventuriereorscandalouspublicfigure.Thiswasalabelthat Villedieu,however,hadembracedandevenincorporatedintoherartisticcredo. BorninNormandyintoabourgeoisfamily,Marie-CatherinemovedtoParis withhermotherandsisterattheageof16,andshesoonbecamearecognized figureinsaloncircles,writingandrecitingpoetrywhichbeganappearingin publishedcollectionsin1659.Shealsometandfellinlovewithanobleman, AntoinedeVilledieu,andbegansigningherworks"MadamedeVilledieu", thoughtheynevermarried.Theunabashedmannerinwhichsheconducted herunconventionalprivatelifeaswellashercareerasawritermeantthatshe hadtoendurepublicderisionandthepainfulairingofherperiodicbreaks withVilledieu(onatleasttwooccasionshefiledlegaldocumentsrenouncing hismarriagepromisestoher).Buthernovelsandpoetrywerepopular,her playswereperformed,andsheenjoyedanextended,ifnotalwaysprofitable, relationshipwiththeprominentbooksellerClaudeBarbin.
