A slightly fictionalized retelling of the relationship between Madame de Stae?l and Madame de Re?camier in Napoleonic France including an appendix of de Stae?l's letters and a bibliography with sources referenced. "Here is the tale, told in a slightly novelettish style, of the long love affair between the two women romantics who defied Napoleon -- the dazzling talker, Madame de Stae?l, and the matchless beauty, Madame de Re?camier." (Tribune, Blackpool, 8 Aug 1958)