Sites of Production: Paris

The complex political, cultural, and economic ties between England and France, against the double background of the development of cross-Channel exchanges and of female acculturation in the early modern period, allowed a growing number of English women to either have direct access to French soil or to be indirectly influenced by events taking place there. The aura of Paris as French capital, and its geographical location in Northern France, made it readily accessible to various aristocratic English women, especially during the Civil War period, when the court of Queen Henrietta Maria was exiled in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, west of Paris. The queen herself had a pivotal role in the importation of French culture at the English court, and fostered the attractiveness of her birth country among her female courtiers and women writers. Although the situation evolved throughout the period, depending on the political and religious upheavals in both countries, and on the two kingdoms’ more-or-less friendly rivalry, Paris seems to have always held a special place in a number of English women writers’ hearts. This entry, though not exhaustive, explores various examples from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to try and understand what roles Paris played in English women’s creativity. It seems that Paris, because of its stark differences with London, allowed these English women freedom to find their own, often dissenting voices. French women writers also offered strong models for their English counterparts to start or pursue their work and come into their own identity as women writers.