A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Scuderi, Magdaleine de
SCUDERI, MAGDALEINE DE,
A woman of more wit and talent than taste, was born in 1607, at Havre de Grace. She went when very young to Paris, where her brother, George de Scuderi, also an eminent French writer, was living; and her wit and acquirements soon gained her admission into the best literary society of that day. Being obliged to support herself, she resolved to do so by her pen; and the taste of that age being for romances, she turned her attention that way, and succeeded wonderfully. Her books were eagerly sought, and her reputation became very great. She was chosen to succeed the learned Helena Comaro, by the celebrated academy of the Ricovrati at Padua. Several great personages gave her many marks of their regard; among others, Christina of Sweden often wrote to her, settled on her a pension, and sent her her picture; Cardinal Mazarin left her an annuity by his will; and, in 1683, Louis the Fourteenth, at the solicitation of Madame de Maintenon, settled a good pension on her.
Mademoiselle de Scuderi corresponded with many learned men; and her house at Paris was a kind of little court, to which all persons of genius, learning, or wit were accustomed to resort. At her death, two churches contended fiercely for the honour of possessing her remains. She was a very voluminous writer, and obtained the first prize of eloquence bestowed by the academy of Pans. Her principal romances were entitled "Almahide," "Clelia," "Artamenes," "Le Grand Cyrus," and "Ibrahim." She also wrote fables and poetry, and a work called "Conversations." Her narratives are tedious and prolix; but the praise of ingenuity, of elevated sentiment, and of purifying and ennobling the particular species of writing to which she devoted herself, cannot be denied to her. She was very plain in person, and this, joined with her wit, gained for her the name of Sappho. Mademoiselle Scuderi died in 1701, aged ninety-four.