Letters from a Peruvian Woman

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Lettres from a Peruvian Woman

Title page from first edition of Lettres d'une Péruvienne
Author Madame de Graffigny
Original title Lettres d'une Péruvienne
Country France
Language French
Genre(s) Epistolary novel
Publisher A. Peine
Publication date 1747
Media type Print
ISBN NA

Letters from a Peruvian Woman (French: Lettres d'une Péruvienne) is a 1747 epistolary novel by Françoise de Graffigny. It tells the story of Zilia, a young Incan princess, who is abducted from the Temple of the Sun by the Spanish during the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. In a series of letters to her fiancé Aza, who is also the Sapa Inca, Zilia tells the story of her capture, her rescue by French sailors, her befriending of the captain Déterville, and her introduction to French society.

Like Montesquieu's Lettres persanes, Lettres d'une Péruvienne presents a satirical view of French life, particularly the conditions of French women, through the eyes of an outsider. Zilia talks about language, literature, philosophy, education, and child rearing, among other subjects.

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