Germaine Necker de Staël was one of the best-known "women of history" to educated westerners in the 19th century, yet she's almost forgotten today. Quoted by Emerson and feared by Napoleon (who said about her, "They say that she does not speak of politics or me; but how does it happen that all who speak to her come to like me less?"), she weathered the last years of the French monarchy (Marie Antoinette didn't like her much), the French Revolution, Napoleon's rule, and a post-Napoleon France. She was especially noted for her salons and her sharp wit. Here is a brief profile of Madame de Staël plus some examples of her wit:

• Madame de Stael Quotes

Dorothy Parker was a writer and critic for such magazines as Vogue, Vanity Fair, and the New Yorker. She also wrote a number of screenplays, poetry, and short fiction. A founder of the Algonquin Round Table, Dorothy Parker was known for her pointed verbal wit and satire, often focused on the life of middle class young women, newly "liberated" from Victorian restrictions.

• Dorothy Parker Quotes