Flore Singer
Flore Singer was an important figure in Parisian life and a loyal friend to the Prince.
She was born in 1824 and died in Paris on 28 November 1915. A salon host and author, for almost half a century she hosted a salon at her Paris home on the first floor of the Hôtel de Chimay, a location which inspired Proust’s depiction of the Verdurin salon.
There, she regularly welcomed writers, artists and politicians, including Alfred de Vigny, Adolphe Franck, Ernest Renan, Elme Caro, John Lemoinne, Octave Feuillet and Émile Deschanel. Literary discussions were accompanied by political debate.
Flore was first and foremost known for her stance on the Dreyfus affair. She defended the captain, pitting her against some of the regular visitors to her salon. Over the course of a long correspondence, she attempted to convince her old friend Ferdinand Brunetière to change his position on the affair. Prince Albert I and Flore Singer exchanged many letters on this same affair, and shared a commitment to pursuing justice and the truth.
“[...] Your Highness, have you seen the wonderful articles by Georges Duruy in “Le Figaro”? [...] Some republicans say that France has become rotten; I hear the same from the monarchists but for very different reasons. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum, such that if France were a pear that I was served for lunch, I would no longer know which side to bite into. But I do not agree with this opinion at all; I believe that French people are still full of life and that our country will be saved if we can find just a few men of your temper, Your Highness [...]”, Flore Singer to Albert I, March 1899, APM C 715.