Her father, Jacques François de Corday, Seigneur d'Armont (1737–1798), unable to cope with his grief over their death, sent Corday and her younger sister to the Abbaye aux Dames convent in Caen, where she had access to the abbey's library and first encountered the writings of Plutarch, Rousseau and Voltaire.
O seu pai, Jacques François de Corday, Seigneur d'Armont (1737–1798), incapaz de superar a pena polas mortes, enviou a Corday e as súas irmás máis novas ao convento Abbaye aux Dames de Caen, onde accedeu á biblioteca da abadía e atopou por primeira vez os escritos de Plutarco, Rousseau e Voltaire.