- 560 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Voltaire
About This Book
The definitive biography of Voltaire's life—from his scandalous love affairs and political maneuverings to his inspired philosophy. We think of Voltaire as the archetypal figure of the enlightenment; in his own time he was also the most famous and controversial figure in Europe. This dazzling new biography celebrates his extraordinary life.Davidson tells the whole, rich story of Voltaire's life (1694-1778): his early imprisonment in the Bastille; exile in England and his mastery of English; an obsession with money, of which he made a huge amount; a scandalous love life; a long exile on the borders of Switzerland; his human-rights campaigns and his triumphant return to Paris to die there as celebrity extraordinaire. Throughout all of this, Voltaire's life was always informed by two things: a belief in the essential value of toleration in the face of fanaticism; and in the right of every man to think and say what he liked.It is rare to have such a vivid portrait of a great man.
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Table of contents
- Cover Page
- Title Page
- Contents
- Dedication
- Maps
- Note to the Reader
- Prologue
- 1. Youth: 1694–1713
- 2. Comédie Française: 1714–1718
- 3. Money, and the shortage of it: 1718–1722
- 4. Friends and lovers: 1722–1723
- 5. La Henriade: 1723–1726
- 6. From the court to the Bastille: 1725–1726
- 7. In England: 1726–1728
- 8. Return to France: 1729–1733
- 9. Lettres Philosophiques: 1731–1733
- 10. Voltaire and Émilie: 1733–1734
- 11. Émilie comes and goes: 1734–1735
- 12. The intellectual love-nest: 1735–1738
- 13. Ordeal of Mme de Graffigny: 1738–1739
- 14. Émilie’s court case: 1739–1740
- 15. Mission to Potsdam: 1741–1743
- 16. Voltaire at Court again: 1744–1746
- 17. End of a relationship: 1746–1747
- 18. Death of Émilie: 1748–1749
- 19. Voltaire in Prussia: 1750–1753
- 20. Humiliation at Frankfurt: 1750–1753
- 21. Sentence of exile: 1754–1755
- 22. Encyclopédie: 1753–1759
- 23. Ferney: 1758–1761
- 24. Mlle Corneille: 1760–1763
- 25. Campaigns for justice: 1761–1765
- 26. Damilaville: 1765
- 27. Beccaria: 1765–1766
- 28. Chevalier de La Barre: 1765–1768
- 29. Geneva troubles: 1765–1768
- 30. The quarrel with Mme Denis: 1767–1769
- 31. Watch-making at Ferney: 1770–1776
- 32. Last campaigns: 1770–1778
- 33. Triumph and death: 1778
- Voltaire’s most important correspondents
- Select bibliography
- List of illustrations
- Image Gallery
- Notes
- Index
- Copyright Page