Taking an approach different from (hat of earlier biographers, A. Owen Aldridge examines Voltaire's literary and intellectual career chronologically, using the methods both of comparative literature and of the history of ideas. The resulting biography portrays a fascinating personality as well as a great writer and thinker. Voltaire is revealed not only through his correspondence, here extensively quoted, but through the statements others made about him in anecdotes, memoirs, and other contemporary documents. New information is introduced regarding Voltaire's sojourn in England, his later relations with English men of letters, his domestic turmoils at the court of Frederick the Great, and his contact with French contemporaries such as Montesquieu and Diderot. For the first time in any biography, attention is given to Voltaire's extensive knowledge of Spanish literature and its influence on his own work, particularly Candide. Voltaire is portrayed as a conscious participant in the Enlightenment. In his early years he was interested primarily in aesthetics and abstract philosophy; later, he passionately dedicated himself to humanitarian causes with ideological implications. Professor Aldridge brings forward evidence pointing to the contrast between these two periods in Voltaire's life.Originally published in 1975.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

One of the towering figures of the Enlightenment was Jean Jacques Rousseau, whose works were essential to the ideological developments of the 18th century.  The prestige of French literature in the 18th century resides especially in its revolutionary character; while the writers of the previous century used to support the social order through their works and showed sympathy and even attempted to explain the political order of the time, in the 18th century, art, literature, philosophy and science all contribute actively and fiercely to the fight against the absolutist monarch and his regime. While this was a current manifesting all throughout Europe, there were differences in practice, especially between close countries (as was the case of England and France). Rousseau's life can best be described as a constant conflict, whether it was conflict with his wife, his employers, his colleagues and even his friends. However, such situations led to the birth of masterpieces which have been influencing the advancement of critical thinking up to the present day. The roots of his personality may be found in his childhood, as the death of his mother and the fleeing of his older brother left him with a father who impressed upon him the love for studying and reading but could not cover for the other needs of a child. Thus, the absence of a family would affect his later relations with people, and it would even compel Rousseau to abandon all his five children in an orphanage, an ironic fact given that he published a treaty on education.It’s quite likely that Rousseau realized the nature of the battles he fought. In fact, towards the end of his life, whether he was motivated by repentance or simply a need to advance his work, he provided his readers with explanations of all his actions and ideas. The “Confessions” were published after his death, and it is now considered by many to round his life’s work into a single opus. 

Product Description: Confessions is Rousseau's autobiography of sorts, which if you've never read it, might not sound so thrilling coming from a Romantic writer and philosopher from the Enlightenment era: oh, but it is. He's self-centered, yet uncensored, paranoid, yet lucid, dishonest, yet totally charming and brilliant...read more

Recounts the love affair between Voltaire, the eighteenth-century writer and philosopher, and the Marquise du Chatelet and describes life and customs of the times

Published posthumously, The Red Notebook is an autobiographical account of the youth of the author of the seminal Romantic novel Adolphe, relating Constant’s European travels and readings, as well as his first steps in society and romance. A spirited look at life and Romantic sensibilities on the eve of the nineteenth century, this narrative is a priceless document and a fine example of early autobiographical writing.

Product Description: This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience...read more

Recounts the tumultuous, decade-long love affair between Voltaire and Emilie du Chatelet, one of the most gifted and radical scientists of the eighteenth century, whose contributions to the world of science have been ignored by history, set against the backdrop of the Enlightenment. Reprint. 40,000 first printing.

Product Description: This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work...read more

Voltaire's extraordinary mind and pivotal role in the Age of Enlightenment induced writers of over two-and-a-half centuries to analyze his works and ponder confounding inconsistencies, bound in both his behavior and his writings. Why have numerous biographies and countless literary essays on this historic figure failed to uncover the root cause of the perplexing contradictions? The answer, as elucidated in this volume, lies in the elaborate characterologic superstructure he had constructed (subconsciously) to shield his mind from intolerable memories and feelings associated with emotional trauma sustained in childhood and adolescence. A desperate effort to flee from his inner self was on some occasions openly confessed by the poet.The self-protective, self-sustaining character mechanisms (described in the fourteen chapters) became, then, a blinding and misleading obstacle to the untutored observer in search of the real Voltaire. In penetrating the overt, social-behavioral layer, psycho biographic research was greatly assisted by spontaneous and effusive expression of concerns, frustrations, anxieties, etc., abundant in the poet's voluminous correspondence, and also by conspicuous omissions, distortions, and rationalizations in his Memoirs. Methods of depth psychology, as applied for interpreting the material, are described and illustrated.

Product Description: Written in the tongue-in-cheek manner for which he was famous, Monsieur de Voltaire’s memoirs reveal a new perspective on the international politics and history of the 18th century. Voltaire's role as acclaimed author, poet, dramatist, and philosopher led him to experience the personal attentions of the most illustrious men and women of his time...read more

An Ernest Bernbaum Professor of Literature at Harvard University reconstructs the life of the French literary genius whose writing changed opinions and fueled fierce debate on both sides of the Atlantic during the period of the American and French revolutions. Reprint.

Documents the life of the French Enlightenment-era intellectual, from her aristocratic youth and controversial choice to become the mistress of Voltaire to her mathematical and scientific achievements and work as a translator of Newton.

Recounts the tumultuous, decade-long love affair between Voltaire and Emilie du Chatelet, one of the most gifted and radical scientists of the eighteenth century, whose contributions to the world of science have been ignored by history, set against the backdrop of the Enlightenment. 50,000 first printing.

Product Description: In her lifetime it was widely said that there were three political powers in Europe—Britain, Russia, and Madame de Stäel. Byron described her as "the first female writer of this, perhaps of any age," Germaine de Stäel was certainly the most remarkable woman of her time and she remains unique—both for the scope of her artistic and intellectual achievements, and the force of her political influence which helped to bring down Napoleon...read more

A portrait of Voltaire focuses on the last twenty-five years of his life--his forced exile from eighteenth-century France wherein he became a successful entrepreneur and social reformer, while writing his masterpiece, Candide.

During much of his life Voltaire's plays and verse made him the toast of society, but his barbed wit and commitment to reason also got him into trouble. With tales of illegitimacy, prison, stardom, exile, love affairs and tireless battles against critics, Church and King, this is a biography of Voltaire.

An Ernest Bernbaum Professor of Literature at Harvard University reconstructs the life of the French literary genius whose writing changed opinions and fueled fierce debate on both sides of the Atlantic during the period of the American and French revolutions.

Even during his lifetime, the Marquis de Sade was in danger of being subsumed by his myth. Since his death, his name has become a synonym for perversion, brutality and desirous cruelty. This biography aims to remove the misconceptions and reveal the Marquis' complex psychology.