Germaine de Staël: forging a politics of mediation

Author, political activist and salonnière, Germaine de Staël has become the focal point of groundbreaking research in women’s studies, in performing arts, and in language/translation theory. In this multidisciplinary volume, a team of scholars concentrates on the vast range of her political and cultural engagements, both during and after the French Revolution. In this collection of studies, which examine issues as diverse as citizenship, immigration, abolition or constitutional liberalism, Staël’s stance as a champion of moderation against the perils of extremism and polarization comes clearly to the fore. Contributors shed new light on the Groupe de Coppet, the circle of which she was the heart, and on the cosmopolitan networks she created within and beyond Europe. Other articles underline and reassess Staël’s formative influence on national cultures distant in space and time, redefining her Italianism in Corinne ou l’Italie, analysing the British reception of her Considérations and exploring the impact of De l’Allemagne on American intellectual life. Germaine de Staël: forging a politics of mediation highlights Staël’s pioneering place in the history of global interaction. She emerges as a truly modern thinker as well as an agent of multicultural exchange. Madelyn Gutwirth, Preface Karyna Szmurlo, Introduction I. Revolutionary engagements Marie-Eve Beausoleil, Germaine de Staël as political activist: print, privacy and opinion in the French Revolution (1789-1799) Paul S. Spalding, Germaine de Staël’s role in rescuing Lafayette, 1792-1797 Catriona Seth, Germaine de Staël and Marie-Antoinette Doris Y. Kadish, Patriarchy and abolition: Staël and fathers Carrie F. Klaus, The ‘French’ and the ‘foreign’ in works by Germaine de Staël, Isabelle de Charrière and Cornélie Wouters Chinatsu Takeda, On a liberal interpretation of the French Revolution: Mme de Staël’s Considérations sur la Révolution française Aurelian Craiutu, Moderation and the Groupe de Coppet Susan Tenenbaum, Turning honour on its head: Germaine de Staël’s indictment of Napoleon Jean-Marie Roulin, Ontology and the politics of return in Germaine de Staël II. In space and time: cultural cross-currents Ann T. Gardiner, From group to traveller’s network: thoughts on reconfiguring sociability in Germaine de Staël Clorinda Donato, Against Coppet’s Italie: Ugo Foscolo’s engaged Italian Romanticism Robert Casillo, Staël, Stendhal and the reputation of the modern Italians Paola Giuli, Poetry and national identity: Corinne, Corilla and the idea of Italy Nanora Sweet, Staël the poet: recuperating Italy Ulrike Wagner, From words to worlds: De l’Allemagne and the transnational recasting of the ancient past Eric Gidal, Conversation and censorship: De l’Allemagne and the British reviews Summaries Bibliography Index