Hortense Cornu was a French socialite, salonnière, writer, and translator who played a significant role in the culture and politics of the French Second Empire. The goddaughter and foster-sister of Napoléon III, their lifelong relationship was his "closest and most lasting friendship with a woman." As an avowed Republican, she clashed with the Emperor over his authoritarianism and was estranged from him for a period of time after his 1851 coup d'état, but in the end "no political differences were allowed to mar their friendship, which was deep and true..." She advocated various French archaeological expeditions and, amongst other contributions, was involved in founding the National Archaeological Museum, France.
