Who was the duchesse d’Enville, and what was Adam Smith’s relation to her? Today, Alain Alcouffe and I wish to conclude our series by bringing to your attention an additional primary source that may — or may not — shed light on these enigmas: a piece of correspondence dated 14 July 1794 from Dr James Currie (1756–1805; pictured above), a Scottish physician best known for his biography and anthology of the works of the celebrated poet Robert Burns.

Curries’s letter is addressed to Smith’s first biographer Dugald Stewart (1753–1828), and among other things, it contains a second-hand report of “a French Marquise, a woman of talents and esprit, [who] was smitten, or thought herself smitten, with the Doctor [Smith], and made violent attempts to obtain his friendship” (Currie 1831, pp. 317-318, cited in Guerra-Pujol 2021, pp. 133-134). Currie’s letter further reports that the French Marquise “was just come from Paris … [and] was determined to obtain his [Smith’s] friendship; but after various attempts was obliged to give the matter up. Dr. Smith …. could not endure this French woman, and was, besides, dying for another” (ibid., emphasis added).

So, who is the “French Marquise” referred to in this passage? Could she, in fact, be the duchesse d’Enville? (And if so, why was she mistaken for a marquise?) Also, who is the other woman Smith was allegedly “dying” for?

In the bygone world of European nobility in pre-revolutionary France, a duchesse held a higher rank than a marquise, for a “duchesse” was a wife of a “duc” (duke), while a “marquise” refers to the wife of a “marquis”. [See generally Guy Chaussinand-Nogaret, The French Nobility in the Eighteenth Century, Cambridge University Press (1985).] For her part, the duchesse d’Enville had obtained her noble title of “duchesse” when she married her cousin Jean-Baptiste de La Rochefoucauld de Roye (1709–1746), Duke of Enville, on 28 February 1732 at the age of 15. [See generally Daniel Vaugelade, Tricentenaire de la naissance de la duchesse d’Enville, 1716-1797, Journée d’études organisée au château de La Roche-Guyon le 24 septembre 2016, Éditions de l’œil (2020).] But at the same time, it is possible that Currie, who is reporting at one remove what an old military man by the name of “Captain Lloyd” had told him (see Guerra-Pujol 2021, p. 132-133), may have confused or mixed up his noble titles.

Regardless whether the Scottish philosopher and the French salonnière were involved in romantic relationship or not, the duchesse d’Enville was one of the most accomplished women of the Age of Enlightenment who deserves recognition in her own right. As it happens, Alain Alcouffe are I are researching the life and influence of this remarkable woman of letters, and we hope to write up a scholarly paper in her honor later this year.