Germaine de Staël

Germaine de Staël was a prominent French-Swiss writer and intellectual in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Known for her novels, essays, and political writings, she championed individual freedom and a balance between reason and emotion in literature. De Staël's influential work, "On Germany," introduced French readers to German Romanticism. She was a vocal critic of Napoleon, advocating for the values of the Enlightenment and women's rights. Her salons in Paris were key cultural hubs, fostering discussions among leading thinkers and writers of her time, making her a significant figure in European intellectual history.