Just finished Maria Fairweather's biography of Madame de Stael. What an amazing woman. Daughter of the Swiss banker Necker -- the man who tried to rescue the French monarchy from bankruptcy -- she was a supporter of the early revolutionaries, but had to flee Paris after the September 1792 massacres in which she nearly lost her head. Writer, lover, intellectual, politician, conversationalist, salon-iste, de Stael had a vast network of influence across Europe and her home at Coppet in Switzerland became the successor of Voltaire's Ferney -- a safe place where free thinkers could gather and share ideas against a turbulent political background. Napoleon feared and despised her, and refused to let her back to Paris after he became emperor. She played a not inconsiderable part in his downfall, using her contacts in Sweden (her late husband was a Swedish diplomat), Russia, Germany and England to help knit the alliance that brought him down. The most touching thing is the devotion that surrounded her. She worshipped her father, and had an insatiable urge for human love. Lovers included Benjamin Constant and quite possibly Talleyrand. This deep fund of emotion coexisted with an intellect of prodigious proportions. Come back Germaine. We need you now.