Of political and intellectual prominence, the daughter of Jacques Necker and the wife of Sweden's ambassador to the French court, Madame de Stael held the limelight as a philosopher, political figure, and prolific writer. She was demonized by Napoleon for her forthrightness, her intellect, and her progressive salon. Force of nature and ultimate enthusiast, Madame de Stael struggled against all that was tyrannical or passionless in her time, leaving Europe a legacy of enlightened liberalism.