Jeanne Julie Éléonore de Lespinasse

Jeanne Julie Éléonore de Lespinasse (9 November 1732 – 23 May 1776) was a French salon holder and letter writer. She held a prominent salon in Paris during the Enlightenment. She is best-known today, however, for her letters, first published in 1809, which offer compelling accounts of two tragic love affairs.

Early life Julie-Jeanne-Éléonore de Lespinasse was born in Lyon, the illegitimate daughter of Julie-Claude-Hilaire d’Albon, who was the sole heir of an old family.