She immediately opened a literary salon that welcomed such leading figures as Beaumarchais, Chénier, Chamfort, Volney and Paine. After her husband's death in 1794, Sophie fell on hard times. Her property was confiscated, and she had to run a shop. In 1799, after some of her property was restored, she resumed her literary activities: she wrote several "letters," translated works by Thomas Paine and Adam Smith, and edited the works of her late husband. Her quick mind and learning probably contributed to Condorcet's feminism (see the article "For women's suffrage" ).
