Customer Reviews

Voltaire in Exile: The Last Years, 1753-78

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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.

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 ;)