[2] She married Nicolas-Bonaventure Duchesne on 28 April 1747, a merchant who had traveled to Paris from the Cotentin Peninsula, in Normandy, to find work with various book vendors.
With his marriage to Marie-Antoinette, the daughter of a master bookseller, Duchesne was received into the Paris community and took over André Cailleau's successful bookshop.
"[1] While she cared for her three minor children, she steered the business with the help of clerk, Pierre Guy until 1775, and then with her secretary André Defer de Maisonneuve.
"The widow Duchesne, considering that this publication infringed on her privilege of publishing the writer's works, and although Louis de Lesbros had offered her three hundred copies of the work as compensation, demanded five hundred and threatened to appeal to the King's Privy Council, the jurisdiction responsible for disputes relating to royal privileges, to obtain satisfaction.
During the French Revolution, her bookshop hosted literary events for playwrights and authors including Collot d'Herbois, Fabre d'Églantine and Olympe de Gouges.
According to one source, "Her family connections and her ability to surround herself with valuable collaborators apparently reinforced her personal talents that were recognized in her circles.