Aisse (c. 1694–1733)
Aisse (c. 1694–1733)
Circassian slave. Pronunciation: Ah-EE-say. Name variations: Mlle Äisse or Aïsse (originally Haïdé). Born in the Caucasus, Russia, in 1694; died in Paris, France, in 1733; daughter of a Circassian chief; given the name Charlotte-Elisabeth Aïcha.
The daughter of a Circassian chief, five-year-old Aisse was carried off from her Russian home by Turkish rovers and sold at Constantinople to the French ambassador, Baron de Ferriol, who took her to Paris and educated her. She was raised at court by his sister-in-law, Madame de Ferriol , sister of Madame de Tencin .
Aisse gained celebrity for her beauty and accomplishments. Her Letters to her friend Madame Calandrini in Geneva was published in 1787 with notes by Voltaire. They contain anecdotes about the social life in Paris at the beginning of the 18th century, critical reactions to novels read, and the despairing saga of her relationship with Chevalier d'Aydie. The collection was said to have prefigured Marie Riccoboni 's epistolary novels.