Anne de La Roche-Guilhem (1644–1710)

Anne de La Roche-Guilhen (the final letter N in her name has been misread for years) was born in Rouen into the minor French Huguenot nobility, a daughter of Charles de Guilhen and his wife Marie-Anne d'Azémar. She was given a good education, including learning Spanish. Her great-uncle was the poet known as Saint-Amant, and the family counted many literary figures among their friends. Following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which protected religious freedom, Anne had to flee to the Netherlands in 1685 and then to England to escape persecution. She made a living with her writing, publishing novels, histories, and translations of Spanish works into French. The circulation of her works, written in England, printed in Holland, and distributed clandestinely in France, shows how Protestant networks functioned during this tumultuous period.