Louise Colet (1810-1876) was a French poet, novelist, playwright and political essayist who dabbled in all genres, winning acclaim from audiences and peers alike and literary prizes. A republican and
feminist, involved with the
Fourierists, holding a literary salon attended by Victor Hugo, Alfred de Musset, Alfred de Vigny and Charles Baudelaire, known as Victor Cousin's mistress and Théophile Gautier's muse, famous above all for her long and stormy affair with Gustave Flaubert, accompanied by an abundant correspondence, Louise Colet bequeathed a substantial body of work that had to wait until the 21st century to be rediscovered.
