Coppet, Switzerland
Coppet (or Copet) was the site of the home of Germaine de Staël, who had
attracted a small entourage of brilliant intellectuals like August Wilhelm Schlegel to
the vicinity of Geneva. The
presence of these luminaries from around Europe was a vital
reason for Byron's choosing
Geneva as a destination when he exiled himself from England in
the spring of 1816.
Although there is no record that the Shelleys were introduced to
Madame de Staël, she was to die the next year, bringing to a
premature close a pan-European career enjoyed by no woman writer
before her time.
