A Salon-in-Exile: Hortense Mancini and the French Diaspora in Restoration London

This open access book re-evaluates the influence of the ancien régime salons, which were the foremost cultural centres in early modern France. Presided over by women, these salons carved out spaces for poetry recitals, performances, and scientific lectures amid polite conversation, enabling mixed-gender intellectual exchange. But what happened when salon attendees were banished from France and exported the salon to a new national audience? How did visitors of different creeds and nationalit...