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« Les dames auteurs se sont coalisées! » : ainsi est raillé en 1808 l'éphémère périodique L'Athénée des Dames, entièrement écrit par des femmes. La critique déplore le discours militant du journal, pouvant « passer pour une déclaration des droits de la femme ». L'évocation du manifeste proto-féministe d'Olympe de Gouges illustre l'articulation entre la question des droits des femmes et la situation des autrices, alors plus que jamais visibles et contestées. Comment les femmes de lettres interagissent-elles ensemble pour soutenir la cause des autrices? C'est ce que vous découvrirez dans cet ouvrage, à travers les publications et correspondances (souvent inédites) de douze Françaises et Italiennes avec une centaine de collègues, au cœur d'un contexte culturel et sociopolitique en pleine transformation (1770-1840). « The ladies authors have united! ». With these words literary critics greeted the 1808 debut of L'Athénée des Dames, a short-lived periodical written entirely by women. The journal was deplored by critics who complained that its militant style of discourse could “pass for a declaration of the rights of women”. As is indicated by the reference to Olympe de Gouges'proto-feminist manifesto, the question of women's rights and the situation of women authors were inextricably linked, all the more so as women authors were simultaneously achieving greater visibility and becoming more controversial. How did women authors come together to support the cause of women's authorship? In pursuing this question, I examine the publication of twelve French and Italian women, as well as their correspondence with scores of colleagues, many of which has not been previously published. These materials were produced during a period (1770-1840) of dramatic cultural and socio-political transformation.