A masterful essay...it will be impossible to claim knowledge of the comtesse de Ségur if you have not read Sophie Heywood’s bookRémi Saudray, review in Cahiers Séguriens, 10 (2012) pp. 161-167.Heywood has made Ségur a figure of considerable interest to historians, not just biographers or literary scholars.Sarah A. Curtis, French History, 2012Winner of the 2012 University of Reading Research Endowment Trust Fund Best Research Output PrizeThe strength of this informative and insightful book is its ability to contextualize the life story and the writings of the comtesse de Ségur without losing sight of the complexities that both present. Neither Ségur’s life nor her writings were always consistent, yet in showing how they intersected with new ideas about childhood, a militant Catholic revival, new publishing strategies, and shifting notions of gender, Heywood hasmade Ségur a figure of considerable interest to historians, not just biographers or literary scholars.Sarah A. Curtis, French History, vol 26, no 4, December 2012