Sophie Gay (1776–1852)

Sophie Gay, née Nichault de la Valette, was born in Paris, France. Her parents were Auguste Antoine Nichault de la Vallette, a bursar to the comte de Provence (later King Louis XVIII), and his wife Francesca Peretti. In 1794, she was married to Gaspard Liottier; they later divorced, and she remarried in 1799 to Jean Sigismond Gay, the mayor of Lupigny. Sophie and her second husband mingled in high society in Aix-la-Chapelle and Spa, Belgium. She made her literary debut with the novel Laure d’Estell, published anonymously in 1802. After an 11-year hiatus, she resumed publishing with many further romantic works, including Léonie de Montbreuse (1813), Anatole (1815), Malheurs d’un amant heureux (Misfortunes of a Happy Lover, 1818), Le Moqueur amoureux (The Amorous Mocker, 1830), and Le Mari confident (The Confident Husband, 1849). She also wrote plays and comic operas, including La Duchesse de Châteauroux (1834). During the reign of King Louis-Philippe, she presided over one of the most fashionable salons in Paris. She was the mother of the writer Delphine de Girardin.