The Cambridge Companion to Voltaire

An accessible overview of the life, times and work of the eighteenth-century philosopher and writer.

Nicholas Cronk (Edited by)

9780521614955, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 19 February 2009

256 pages, 6 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.3 cm, 0.41 kg

'The Cambridge Companion to Voltaire is a fascinating guide to one of the world's most influential authors and thinkers. It will help introduce new readers to Voltaire and encourage others to revisit him. One can only hope that this will facilitate the nurturing of new generations of Voltaire experts, including in Britain.' Reference Reviews

As a leading thinker of the European Enlightenment, Voltaire is a central figure in France's collective cultural memory. The popularity of Candide has made him perhaps best known as a writer of tales. Yet these represent only a fraction of his entire œuvre. Voltaire created a style of authorship which made him the most famous writer in Europe and made him a figurehead for a certain style of writing and thinking. This Companion covers his plays, fiction, pamphlets, correspondence, biblical criticism, and historical, political and philosophical thought, to give a wide-ranging view of his writings. The most comprehensive book on Voltaire available in English, it makes accessible the most recent research in France as well as the English-speaking world, in a series of original essays and a guide to sources. The essays demonstrate why Voltaire remains an essential point of reference in defining the modern intellectual today.

Chronology
Introduction Nicholas Cronk
1. The making of a name: a life of Voltaire Geoffrey Turnovsky
2. Voltaire and authorship Nicholas Cronk
3. Voltaire, philosopher or philosophe? David Beeson and Nicholas Cronk
4. Voltaire and clandestine manuscripts Miguel Benítez
5. Voltaire and the myth of England John Leigh
6. Voltaire's masks: theatre and theatricality Russell Goulbourne
7. Voltaire as story-teller Gianni Iotti
8. Candide Philip Stewart
9. Voltaire and history Catherine Volpilhac-Auger
10. Voltaire's correspondence Christiane Mervaud
11. Voltaire: pamphlets and polemic Olivier Ferret
12. Voltaire and the politics of toleration John Renwick
13. Voltaire and the Bible Graham Gargett
14. The Voltaire effect Daniel Brewer
Guide to further reading
Index.

Subject Areas: Literature: history & criticism [DS]