THE DIVINE MISTRESS

by Samuel Edwards ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 27, 1970

Emilie du Chatelet, the subject of this biography, is perhaps the least known of the grand courtesans of the eighteenth century. The reason undoubtedly is that the beds she shared were ducal (the Duc de Richelieu) and philosophical (Voltaire) rather than royal. Nonetheless, she was a thoroughly remarkable woman, and her talents included a propensity for the physical sciences as well as the physical arts. Mr. Edwards (alias Noel Gerson) does a good job of resurrecting Mlle. du Chatelet, emphasizing her relationship with Voltaire and, in the process--although his view of the work of the latter is amateurish in many respects--shedding a surprising amount of light on the master as well as on the mistress. If he is somewhat too adulatory--it is difficult to believe that the lady was quite the ""towering intellect"" which, on the basis of her accomplishments, Mr. Edwards makes her out to be--that fault may be attributed to a gallantry which it is easy to forgive in an author who, in other respects, does justice to one of the lights of the grand siecle.

Pub Date: April 27, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: McKay

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1970

Categories: NONFICTION