13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
For those who can take A LOT of Voltaire., February 15, 2002
Before this 1994 Oxford University Press Edition, ENGLISH-language Readers of Voltaire's famous Book had to make do with Translations from the FRENCH 'Lettres Philosophiques'. Voltaire, however, began writing the Book during his two and a half year stay in ENGLAND, and wrote over half the Letters in ENGLISH. This first critical Edition of the 'Letters' in ENGLISH (the remaining eight Letters are presented in contemporary Translation) are immediately more fresh, more witty, more pointed, more fluid, more Voltairean, than the pallid Translations of other Editions on offer, and, with their characteristic 18th century Spelling (e.g. today's words ending in 'c' ending in 'k', like 'Publick') and Orthography (Nouns capitalised, proper Nouns italicised), give one the pleasurable Feeling of reading a Contemporary of Swift's or Pope's.
Anyone hoping for a Bill Bryson-like Travelogue into the Manners and distinctive Details of the ENGLISH, or a FRENCH 'Gulliver's Travels', will be disappointed. The 'Letters' are a Travelogue of Enlightenment Ideas, and can be divided into three Sections - Religion (Voltaire celebrating the Tolerance of many Religions in ENGLAND compared to the Catholic Tyranny in FRANCE); Philosophy/Science (offering a breathless Digest of exciting new Theories and Discoveries by Locke and Newton), and Literature (decrying the barbarous Irregularities of English theatre compared to the coolly classical French, but praising the occasional poetic Vividness and greater dramatic Force of Shakespeare - how nice of him!). Voltaire often distorts political Conditions in ENGLAND (e.g. the economic Persecution of Catholics) to extol the Country as a Beacon of Liberty.
Although Voltaire writes ENGLISH very well (considering he had only begun learning it the Year before commencing the 'Letters'), his Language lacks the satiric Bite and linguistic Inventiveness of a Swift or Gay, and so feels comparitively thin. Although there is a complex Irony working throughout, with the 'I' of the fictional Letter-Writer shifting functions (satirical, explanatory etc.) depending on the Subject, the most enjoyable Parts are those most straightforwardly polemical, such as the Attack on Reactionaries hostile to the Growth of Science, or the refreshingly irreverant Approach to the Bard.
How you enjoy these Letters depends on how much Voltaire you can take. His brave Attacks on Intolerance, Fanaticism and Absolutism can never be forgotten, and his Advocacy of the actively Intellectual over the submissively Superstitious was crucial in developing the modern Era; but his relentless Promotion of Reason can itself appear intolerant, shortsighted and incapable of dealing with more inexplicable Mysteries. He mocks the Ancients' philosophical and scientific Errors, asserting the linear Progress of History and human Endeavour, assuming, as did those ancients, that his Age has got everything right. The 25th Letter exposes the limits and inflexibility of Voltaire - taking uncontextualised Excerpts from Pascal's 'Pensees', he attempts to demolish the Jansenist's Christian Logic, but only exposes himself as a poor Reader forever closed to true Mystery, Poetry and Complexity.
This critical Edition includes a valuable Introduction detailing Voltaire's Experiences in England, contextualising the Letters and proving the Importance on his artistic Development of the Writer's Contact with the ENGLISH Language. An interesting Textual Note explains the Genesis of the Work, and the Status of the various national Editions. Appendices include a long Excerpt from Voltaire's Essay (in ENGLISH) on Milton, and a biographical Appreciation by Goldsmith. The Apparatus is somewhat let down by the Notes. Because this Edition is considered a primary Text, rather than a Translation, Cronk assumes the reader to be a Student in FRENCH Literature, and neglects to translate Quotations on occasion, or to identify unfamiliar (to this Reader, anyway) Personnages.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, mild introduction to a great satirist, September 13, 2000
This book is, justifiably, not as famous as _Candide_, but is still a great sample of Voltaire's thinking--and therefore a great example of Enlightenment discourse. In these letters Voltaire criticizes France by praising England, and begins to develop ideas about religion, democracy, and social convention that he continued to work on throughout his life. For my taste, _Philosophical Dictionary_ is more exciting, but these letters are more inviting, and also give insight into the connections between England and France that obviously lie at the heart of their historical antipathy.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
NOT originally written in English!, February 15, 2010
As the other reviewers mention, the main selling point of this edition is that it contains Voltaire's original English versions of some of the letters - this is proclaimed on the back cover, and is the theme of the critical introduction.
Yet as the little tucked away "Supplementary bibliography (2005)" says on page xxxvi:
"Since the first publication of this edition in 1994, it has been shown that Voltaire wrote all the text of the Letters in French, and that the Letters Concerning the English Nation are a translation by John Lockman".
So, this edition does NOT contain Voltaire's own words, but rather a bad translation from 1742. It seems it was too much hard work for Nicholas Cronk to rewrite his introduction, or even for OUP to change the back cover.
As it stands, much of the critical material is rendered obsolete, though perhaps less so than the 250 year-old translation.
Buy the Penguin edition instead - modern translation, half the price, no disproven theories.
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