Rémusat, Claire, Comtesse de (1780–1821)
Rémusat, Claire, comtesse de (1780–1821)
French writer and countess. Name variations: Claire de Rémusat or Claire de Remusat; countess of Remusat. Pronunciation: Ray-MU-zah. Born Clair Élisabeth Gravier de Vergennes in 1780; died in 1821; married Comte de Rémusat (a court chamberlain); children: François Marie Charles de Rémusat, known as Charles, comte de Rémusat (1797–1875, a politician and writer).
A noted beauty in the court of Napoleon, Claire, comtesse de Rémusat, was a lady-in-waiting and intimate friend of Empress Josephine . She was married to Comte de Rémusat, court chamberlain, and her position made her thoroughly acquainted with the intimate life of the Napoleonic reign. Though she wrote an essay on the "Education of Women" which was honored by the Academy, her important work was her Mémoirs, published by her grandson long after her death in 1879. They are particularly valuable for the light they throw on the court of the First Empire.