In 1753, Voltaire — playwright, poet, philosopher, and one of the most fêted figures in Europe — was forced by Louis XV into exile, where he remained for the last twenty-five years of his life. These years heralded a startling new beginning for this remarkable man. Voltaire carved out a new and vibrant world in his isolation, becoming a successful entrepreneur and writing his masterpiece Candide. In Voltaire in Exile, Ian Davidson re-creates this period in the life of one of the giants of the Enlightenment. By painstakingly translating the rich correspondence between Voltaire and his family, members of the Court at Versailles, and the French intellectual elite, Davidson allows us to discover Voltaire the artist, the campaigner, the aesthete, the lover, the humorist. The result is a wonderfully vivid portrait of this extraordinarily funny, iconoclastic, complex, and, above all, ferociously intelligent individual.
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A probing and careful biographer, Davidson recognizes that the transforming event of Voltaire's life came when he was banished from France. Losing his place in a country that idolized him as a poet and dramatist awakened Voltaire to political issues transcending national boundaries. In this chronicle of Voltaire's deep involvement in a series of post-exile campaigns to reverse barbaric court rulings, Davidson limns the great writer's remarkable transformation from a literary celebrity into an international champion of human rights. That metamorphosis generated scores of spirited letters initially appealing simply for the lives and liberty--or posthumous reputations--of specific individuals but finally demanding the radical reforms needed to free judicial proceedings from ecclesiastical tyranny. Davidson piquantly details Voltaire's real and unrelenting fight against the church hierarchy but also explodes the mythical image of Voltaire as an atheist and an egalitarian revolutionary. The brilliant writer of Candide knew all too well that this is far from "the best of all possible worlds"; this valuable study shows how resolutely he labored to make it a better one. Bryce Christensen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"'A powerful and illuminating book.' John Carey, Sunday Times 'Excellent... By focusing on Voltaire's years of exile, Davidson brings this most illustrious yet elusive of figures brilliantly to life. Davidson has done a marvellous job, cramming the hectic events of Voltaire's last three decades into a manageable length, while keeping the narrative readable and entertaining, as well as scholarly and informative.' Andrew Crumey, Scotland on Sunday"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Voltaire Exalted,
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Having been reminded of Voltaire from reading recent works on James Boswell and Benjamin Franklin, I found this very admirable book by Ian Davidson to be the remedy to my general ignorance about this great figure from the past. It is not the source to learn about Voltaire's early days or as the noted author of plays. However, from this book one can get a good feel for why Voltaire was, and remains, so important as the symbol of a thinking and witty man, living in an age often marked by severe religious, judicial, and political intolerance. He led a long, full life while often acting generously to improve the troubled lot of real humans.
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Enlightening,
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This review is from: Voltaire in Exile (Hardcover)
Rich in detail and meticulously researched this is an outstanding representation of an amazing man, his more amazing life and the trials and tribulations of free thinking individuals of the time. It's almost as if you have time travelled back to the eighteenth century ;)
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
Voltaire was born in Paris in 1694, the third child of Francois Arouet, a well-connected professional notary from the upper bourgeoisie. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
watchmaking industry, other niece, divine angels, second canto, dear angel Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mme Denis, Mme du Deffand, Dictionnaire Philosophique, Petit Conseil, Mme Lejeune, Father Adam, Catholic Church, Jean-Robert Tronchin, Mlle Clairon, Mme de Pompadour, Mme Calas, King's Council, Mlle Corneille, Parlement of Toulouse, Pierre-Michel Hennin, Toulouse Parlement, Frederick the Great, French Resident, Jesus Christ, Mme Fontaine, Catherine the Great, Elie de Beaumont, Lally Tollendal, Monsieur Tronchin, Pierre-Paul Sirven New!
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Voltaire was born in Paris in 1694, the third child of Francois Arouet, a well-connected professional notary from the upper bourgeoisie. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
watchmaking industry, other niece, divine angels, second canto, dear angel Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mme Denis, Mme du Deffand, Dictionnaire Philosophique, Petit Conseil, Mme Lejeune, Father Adam, Catholic Church, Jean-Robert Tronchin, Mlle Clairon, Mme de Pompadour, Mme Calas, King's Council, Mlle Corneille, Parlement of Toulouse, Pierre-Michel Hennin, Toulouse Parlement, Frederick the Great, French Resident, Jesus Christ, Mme Fontaine, Catherine the Great, Elie de Beaumont, Lally Tollendal, Monsieur Tronchin, Pierre-Paul Sirven New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 21
books:
See all 21 books this book cites
4
books
cite this book:
- Dictionnaire Philosophique (French Edition) by Voltaire on 18 pages
- Lettres Philosophiques by Voltaire on 5 pages
- Letters Concerning the English Nation (Oxford World's Classics) by Voltaire on 5 pages
- Oeuvres Historiques by Voltaire on 5 pages
- Correspondance Choisie by Voltaire in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 21 books this book cites
- Schiller: National Poet--Poet of Nations: A Birmingham Symposium (Amsterdamer Beitraege zur neueren Germanistik 61) (Amsterdamer Beitrage zur Neueren Germanistik) (English and German Edition) by Nicholas Martin on page 194
- What Good Are the Arts? by John Carey in Back Matter
- The Man in the Iron Mask by Roger Macdonald in Back Matter
- Candide and Other Stories (Oxford World's Classics) by Voltaire in Front Matter
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