UNCOVER the forgotten story of one of the 19th century's most famous women.

Professor Catriona Seth will give a free talk on Germaine de Staël at The Weston Library, Broad Street at 1pm tomorrow.

When Madame de Staël died in July 1817 she was renowned for taking a political stance, publishing essays and novels which were widely translated and circulated.

She had been at once admired and reviled as a public intellectual and had been exiled by several régimes.

Napoleon was said to recognise just three powers in Europe—England, Russia and Madame de Staël.