Sullivan-Franchi, Eleanore |
| BALLET DANCER, COURTESAN (ITALY) |
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BORN 12 Jun 1750, Lucca, Toscana - DIED 14 Sep 1833, Paris: Rue d'Anjou BIRTH NAME Franchi, Eleonora GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Père Lachaise, Rue du Repos 16 (Division 41, chemin des Anglais, ligne 01 (Craufurd pyramid)) |
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Eleanore Franchi was the daughter of a tailor from Lucca. She became a ballet dancer and when she was fifteen years old, she married a dancer from the travelling company Martini. he died soon after the marriage. In Venice she met Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg during the carnival. They became lovers and she had two children with him, Eugen Franchi (1768-c1794) and Eleonore Franchi (1771-1833). Elenore was a courtesan and Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II became another lover. His mother Maria Theresia exiled her from Austria and she went to Paris. There she married a rich Irish merchant named Sullivan. She followed him to India, where she met the equally rich Quintin Craufurd. They became lovers and she returned to Europe with him. In Paris she lived as his hostess at the Rue Clichy. From 1789 to 1799 Craufurd's friend Alex von Fersen was her lover. Von Fersen was a close friend of Queen Marie-Antoinette, and his sister Sophie Piper wrote that she hoped that the queen would never find out because it would hurt her feelings. Eleanore partly financed the escape attempt that was organized for the royal family in 1791. It failed, but they escaped to Brussels themselves and returned to France in 1792. They settled in the Austrian Netherlands around 1794. After the Peace of Amiens, they returned to Paris in 1802 and in 1804 they married. Eleanore organized a salon in their house on the on the rue d'Anjou. They were guarded by the secret police but protected by their friend Talleyrand. After the fall of the Empire, they were on good terms with the Bourbons. Craufurd died in 1819 and Eleanore died at home in Paris in 1833. Family • Husband: Craufurd, Quintin (1804-1819) |
| Images |
 The grave of Quintin Craufurd at the Cimetière du Père Lachaise, Paris. Picture by Androom (08 Feb 2025) |
