Coppet group


The Coppet group, also known as the Coppet circle, was an informal intellectual and literary gathering centered on Germaine de Staël during the time period between the establishment of the Napoleonic First Empire and the Bourbon Restoration of 1814-1815. The name comes from Coppet Castle in Switzerland.
The group, which broadly continued the activities of Madame de Staël's previous salons, had a considerable influence on the development of nineteenth century liberalism and romanticism. Stendhal referred to the Coppet guests as "the Estates General of European opinion."

Participants

Around the core group which consisted of the hosts at Coppet Castle, the Necker family, that is Jacques Necker and his daughter, Germaine de Staël and her long time lover, Benjamin Constant, with her cousin by marriage, Albertine Necker de Saussure, Wilhelm von Humboldt, Jean de Sismondi, Charles Victor de Bonstetten, Prosper de Barante, Mathieu de Montmorency and August Wilhelm Schlegel, there was a stream of international men and women visitors of influence. These included: