Stéphanie-Félicité Ducrest de Saint-Aubin, Comtesse de Genlis (1746-1830), was a popular, prolific and influential French writer during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Known as "Madame de Genlis," she is remembered as a novelist, playwright and innovative educator. Largely self taught, she became governess and instructor to the daughters and later (unusually, for a woman) the sons of the Duke of Chartres (later the Duke of Orléans).
In 1793, when her husband and the Duke were both guillotined during the French Revolution, Madame de Genlis went into exile in England, Switzerland and Germany. She returned to France in 1799, continuing to support herself through her writing.
Her career as a writer spanned five decades and her works were read widely throughout Europe. Her writings include several volumes of plays for children, and numerous essays and journals. Her many novels include the wildly popular Adèle et Théodore, and her plays include L'Amant Anonyme (The Anonymous Lover). The latter was adapted by François-Georges Fouques Deshayes (known as “Desfontaines“) into the libretto for an opera of the same name by composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges.
