Voltaire: A Life
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The definitive biography of Voltaire’s life—from his scandalous love affairs and political machinations to his brilliant philosophy. Publishers Weekly A new biography of Voltaire “the man”is long overdue, and Davidson (Voltaire in Exile) has done an admirable job in writing it.Voltaire, né Marie-François Arouet (1694 1778), the personification of the Enlightenment, is presented as a multifaceted and often contradictory individual whose devotion to tolerance and pluralism was frequently offset by his cowardice and self-concern. A child of privilege, he cemented his well-to-do status through involvement in a shady lottery scheme and celebrated life with a succession of mistresses before settling on his married niece as his mistress of choice. Voltaire’s ability as a playwright and writeris examinedas is his commitment to the rationalist Encyclopédie. His commitmentto human rights did not truly develop, according to Davidson, until he reached middle age, with his involvement in the Calas and de La Barre cases, miscarriages of justice thatmarked a turning point in French judicial history. Regrettably, the description of the first part of Voltaire’s life is a bit tedious, and overall this biography would have benefited from more information on French society as a whole during the 18th century. But Voltaire emerges from the story as a champion of civil liberties whose flaws weredecidedly human.16 pages of illus.; maps. (Oct.)
MapsNote to the ReaderPrologue1 Youth: 1694-1713 12 Comedie Francaise: 1714-1718 123 Money, and the shortage of it: 1718-1722 254 Friends and lovers: 1722-1723 335 La Henriade: 1723-1726 426 From the court to the Bastille: 1725-1726 517 In England: 1726-1728 588 Returen to France: 1729-1733 749 Lettres Philosophiques: 1731-1733 8810 Voltaire and Emilie: 1733-1734 9911 Emilie comes and goes: 1734-1735 10912 The intellectual love-nest: 1735-1738 12613 Ordeal of Mme de Graffigny: 1738-1739 14114 Emilie's court case: 1739-1740 15815 Mission to Potsdam: 1741-1743 17416 Voltaire at Court again: 1744-1746 19017 End of a relationship: 1746-1747 20518 Death of Emilie: 1748-1749 22019 Voltaire in Prussia: 1750-1753 23920 Humiliation at Frankfurt: 1750-1753 26421 Sentence of exile: 1754-1755 26922 Encyclopedie: 1753-1759 27923 Ferney: 1758-1761 29224 Mlle Corneille: 1760-1763 30725 Campaigns for justice: 1761-1765 31426 Damilaville: 1765 33327 Beccaria: 1765-1766 34728 Chevalier de la Barre: 1765-1768 35729 Geneva troubles: 1765-1768 37130 The quarrel with Mme Denis: 1767-1769 39231 Watch-making at Ferney: 1770-1776 40932 Last campaigns: 1770-1778 43133 Triumph and death: 1778 447Voltaire's most important correspondents 463Select bibliography 466List of illustrations 472Notes 474Index 509
