Charlotte-Jeanne Béraud de la Haye de Riou, marquise de Montesson (1737 - 1805), was born in Paris of an old Breton family.

About 1754 she married Jean-Baptiste, marquis de Montesson, who died in 1769. Her beauty and intelligence attracted the attention of Louis-Philippe, duke of Orléans , whom she secretly married in 1773 with the authorization of the king. For her husband's amusement she set up a little theatre and wrote several plays, in the acting of which she herself took part. She was imprisoned for some time during the Terror, but was released after the fall of Robespierre, became the friend of the empress Joséphine, and was a prominent figure at the beginning of the empire.

The best edition of her works appeared under the title of Œuvres anonymes in 1782-1785. See Charles Collé, Journal (1868); the Memoirs of St Simon, Madame de Genlis, the duchesse d'Abrantes and Mme de Levis; G Strenger, "La Société de la marquise de Montesson," in the Nouvelle revue (1902); J Turquan, Madame de Montesson douairiere d'Orléans (Paris, 1904); and G Capon and R Yve-Plessis, Les Théâtres clandestins du xviii' siècle (1904).

Reference

• This entry incorporates public domain text originally from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.