Françoise Eléonore Dejean de Manville was born in Paris on 3 March 1749. Her father was Charles Dejean, seigneur de Manville. In 1768 Françoise married
Joseph de Sabran, comte de Grammont (1702–1775). She was 19 and he was 66. They had two children,
Delphine de Sabran, later Countess of Custine (1770–1826) and Louis-Elzéar de Sabran, who joined the Garde du Corps of
Louis XVI (1774–1846). Françoise was widowed in 1775 at the age of 26. In 1777 the
Prince de Ligne introduced Françoise to the Chevalier
Stanislas de Boufflers (1738–1815). Boufflers was a brilliant and seductive literary man, and a member of the
Knights of Malta. Their relationship began as a playful friendship. They became lovers in May 1781, and were not secretive about their union. He could not leave the Knights of Malta without forfeiting his ecclesiastical benefits, and chose to continue a rather mediocre military career with the Knights. Françoise maintained a correspondence with Boufflers during his stay in Senegal, which gives abundant information about life in 18th century Senegal and the way the colony was organized. In 1797 Françoise finally married Boufflers, in
Breslau. Due to the
French Revolution, when they finally married they had both lost their fortunes. They settled in the country near Paris. Boufflers died in 1815. Françoise died in Paris on 27 February 1827 at the age of 77. Her body is in the 11th division of the
Père Lachaise Cemetery in the Delille enclosure, beside her husband's, where it was moved in 1846. ==Publications==