[4] Within Swanton's large circle of acquaintances were to be found such prominent figures as Charles Dickens, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Victor Hugo, Emile Souvestre, Stendhal, Mary Elizabeth Mohl, Barthélemy St Hilaire, Lamartine, and Maria Edgeworth.

[2][3][7][4] Shortly after the July Revolution of 1830, Swanton is said to have been engaged by the French government to help General Lafayette establish public libraries in France, but the plan was never brought to fruition.

[5] Instead, she and Montgolfier created what the latter called a "choice circulating library" for "sound and healthy reading",[5][1] geared in particular towards young women and designed to "develop and enkindle the soul, enlighten the mind, and vivify and direct the imagination".

[5] The pair also founded La Ruche, journal d'études familière, a monthly magazine dedicated to the education of young women, and co-authored a number of children's books.

[7][5] After Swanton's death on 6 November 1881, she was buried alongside Montgolfier (and her son, Louis Belloc) at La Celle-Saint-Cloud, France, location of the Swanton-Belloc family home.