Mother of the Church: Sofia Svechina, the Salon, and the Politics of Catholicism in Nineteenth-Century Russia and France

Sofia Petrovna Svechina (1782–1857), better known as Madame Sophie Swetchine, was the hostess of a famous nineteenth-century Parisian salon. A Russian émigré, Svechina moved to France with her husband in 1816. She had recently converted to Roman Catholicism, and the salon she opened acquired a distinctly religious character. It quickly became one of the most popular salons in Paris and was a meeting place for the French intellectual Catholic elite and members of the Liberal Catholic movement. As a salonniére, Svechina developed close friendships with some of the most noted public figures in the Liberal Catholic movement. Her involvement with her guests went deeper than the typical salonniére's. She was a mentor, spiritual counselor, and intellectual advisor to many distinguished Parisian men and women, and her influence extended beyond the walls of her salon into the public world of politics and ideas. In this fascinating biography, Tatyana Bakhmetyeva seeks to understand the creative process that informed Svechina's life and examines her subject in the context of nineteenth-century thought and letters. It will appeal to educated readers interested in European and Russian history, the history of Catholicism, and women's history.

1123909436
Mother of the Church: Sofia Svechina, the Salon, and the Politics of Catholicism in Nineteenth-Century Russia and France

Sofia Petrovna Svechina (1782–1857), better known as Madame Sophie Swetchine, was the hostess of a famous nineteenth-century Parisian salon. A Russian émigré, Svechina moved to France with her husband in 1816. She had recently converted to Roman Catholicism, and the salon she opened acquired a distinctly religious character. It quickly became one of the most popular salons in Paris and was a meeting place for the French intellectual Catholic elite and members of the Liberal Catholic movement. As a salonniére, Svechina developed close friendships with some of the most noted public figures in the Liberal Catholic movement. Her involvement with her guests went deeper than the typical salonniére's. She was a mentor, spiritual counselor, and intellectual advisor to many distinguished Parisian men and women, and her influence extended beyond the walls of her salon into the public world of politics and ideas. In this fascinating biography, Tatyana Bakhmetyeva seeks to understand the creative process that informed Svechina's life and examines her subject in the context of nineteenth-century thought and letters. It will appeal to educated readers interested in European and Russian history, the history of Catholicism, and women's history.

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Mother of the Church: Sofia Svechina, the Salon, and the Politics of Catholicism in Nineteenth-Century Russia and France

Mother of the Church: Sofia Svechina, the Salon, and the Politics of Catholicism in Nineteenth-Century Russia and France

by Tatyana V. Bakhmetyeva
Mother of the Church: Sofia Svechina, the Salon, and the Politics of Catholicism in Nineteenth-Century Russia and France

Mother of the Church: Sofia Svechina, the Salon, and the Politics of Catholicism in Nineteenth-Century Russia and France

by Tatyana V. Bakhmetyeva

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Overview

Sofia Petrovna Svechina (1782–1857), better known as Madame Sophie Swetchine, was the hostess of a famous nineteenth-century Parisian salon. A Russian émigré, Svechina moved to France with her husband in 1816. She had recently converted to Roman Catholicism, and the salon she opened acquired a distinctly religious character. It quickly became one of the most popular salons in Paris and was a meeting place for the French intellectual Catholic elite and members of the Liberal Catholic movement. As a salonniére, Svechina developed close friendships with some of the most noted public figures in the Liberal Catholic movement. Her involvement with her guests went deeper than the typical salonniére's. She was a mentor, spiritual counselor, and intellectual advisor to many distinguished Parisian men and women, and her influence extended beyond the walls of her salon into the public world of politics and ideas. In this fascinating biography, Tatyana Bakhmetyeva seeks to understand the creative process that informed Svechina's life and examines her subject in the context of nineteenth-century thought and letters. It will appeal to educated readers interested in European and Russian history, the history of Catholicism, and women's history.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781609091989
Publisher: Northern Illinois University Press
Publication date: 01/03/2017
Series: NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 420
File size: 2 MB
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Tatyana V. Bakhmetyeva is a lecturer at the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies at the University of Rochester.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction 1

Part I St. Petersburg

Prologue 11

Chapter 1 The World in Flux: The French Revolution, Napoleon, and the Russian Nobility 14

Chapter 2 In the Salons of St Petersburg 34

Chapter 3 At a Religious Crossroads 54

Chapter 4 Becoming Catholic, Becoming Russian 77

Part II Paris

Prologue 109

Chapter 5 Making Paris Home: The Micro-Politics of Friendship 112

Chapter 6 "Neutral Grounds in Paris": The Early Years of Svechina's Salon 135

Chapter 7 Svechina and French Religious Politics, 1830-1848 163

Chapter 8 The Kingdom of Saint-Dominique 180

Chapter 9 Opportunities Lost 206

Chapter 10 The New Crisis and the End 237

Conclusion Writing the Modern Saint 260

Notes 273

Bibliography 311

Index 329

What People are Saying About This

Thomas Kselman

This book draws on valuable archival sources and a selection of secondary materials to narrate with enthusiasm and style the life of a fascinating woman.

Christine Worobec

In this engaging intellectual biography of the Russian noblewoman Sophia Svechina, Bakhmetyeva provides authoritative close readings and analyses of primary sources, presenting to her readers letters to and from Svechina, as well as quotations from important religious writings. Svechina's personality and influence come alive in the narrative.

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