Mademoiselle Aïssé

Who was Mademoiselle Aïssé?

Mademoiselle Charlotte Aïssé, French letter-writer, was the daughter of a Circassian chief, and was born about 1694.

Her father's palace was pillaged by the Turks, and as a child of four years old she was sold to the comte Charles de Ferriol, the French ambassador at Constantinople. She was brought up in Paris by Ferriol's sister-in-law with her own sons, d'Argental and Pont de Veyle. Her great beauty and romantic history made her the fashion, and she attracted the notice of the regent, Philip II, Duke of Orléans, whose offers she had the strength of mind to refuse. She formed a deep and lasting attachment to the Chevalier d'Aydie, by whom she had a daughter. She died in Paris.

Her letters to her friend Madame Calandrini contain much interesting information with regard to contemporary celebrities, especially on Mme. du Deffand and Mme. de Tencin, but they are above all of interest in the picture they afford of the writer's own tenderness and fidelity. Her Lettres were edited by Voltaire, by J. Ravenel, with a notice by Sainte-Beuve and by Eugene Asse. Mlle. Aisse has been the subject of three plays: by A. de Lavergne and P. Woucher, by Louis Bouilhet and by Dejoux.