 The women who had any influence of the political life of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are very often dubbed “salonières”. In other words, they were hostesses, whose job was to make sure that the men who came to share important philosophical insight in their home did not go about with an empty glass. Famous salonières of the French Revolution include Madame Helvetius, widow of the philosopher of that name, Madame de Stael, Madame Roland, wife of the Girondin minister of the interior, and Sophie de Grouchy. Although these women were hostesses, their motivation for hosting was perhaps as much the desire to be part of the debate as to facilitate it. It was easier for a woman to talk politics in her own home than anywhere else. Although women could attend men’s clubs—at least until 1793—and the Assembly, they could only listen. Several of the salonières of the revolution became writers of note, including Madame Roland, Madame de Stael, and Sophie de Grouchy. Unfortunately, historians of the revolution, starting with Michelet but continuing to these days, ensured that they only became famous as hostesses rather than as the thinkers and writers they were.