Voltaire in Love [Paperback]

Nancy Mitford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1999

In 1733, the lovely, intelligent, and married Marquise du Châtelet commenced her romance with one François-Marie Arouet, a philosophe who had made a name for himself as "Voltaire." Mitford deftly and engagingly recounts their exemplary affair, whether in studious exile in the country, on the run from the censor, or in the "thoughtless circles of high society." Her portrayals of the "scamp" philosopher, his mistress who was "excessive in everything," and their "irregular century" are delightful portraits in themselves and as a group, a fascinating fresco of the French Enlightenment.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nancy Mitford was born in London on November 28 1904, daughter of the second Baron Redesdale, and the eldest of six girls. Her sisters included Lady Diana Mosley; Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire and Jessica, who immortalised the Mitford family in her autobiography Hons and Rebels. The Mitford sisters came of age during the Roaring Twenties and wartime in London, and were well known for their beauty, upper-class bohemianism or political allegiances. Nancy contributed columns to The Lady and the Sunday Times, as well as writing a series of popular novels including The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, which detailed the high-society affairs of the six Radlett sisters. While working in London during the Blitz, Nancy met and fell in love with Gaston Palewski, General de Gaulle's chief of staff, and eventually moved to Paris to be near him. In the 1950s she began writing historical biographies - her life of Louis XIV, The Sun King, became an international bestseller. Nancy completed her last book, Frederick the Great, before she died of Hodgkin's disease on 30 June 1973. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786706414
• ISBN-13: 978-0786706419
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,412,433 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Voltaire is so Adorable, Do Admit!, July 28, 2000

By 

P A Brown (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Voltaire in Love (Paperback)

Nancy Mitford is not the author to look to if you like your history full of facts and wars and power politics. Nancy Mitford takes a difference approach, one more concerned with how simply delightful things (especially French things) were before that really vulgar revolution took all the fun out of being an aristocrat. She sees Voltaire as not only the pre-eminent humanist philosopher and writer of his time, but also as a sentimental fool who just could not help but run off with the lovely, but rather too intellectual Marquise de Chatelet. They kept getting into all sorts of elegant French trouble with the censors and the court, all the while being dreadfully brilliant about the whole state of the world. Delicious scamps! Miss Mitford's historic accuracy is not in question, nor are her skills as a writer or biographer. But she is more of a gossip than not, and is certainly more of an unmitigated snob about the French aristocracy than some down-to-earth readers might like. I for one adore this cosy, catty biography, and find it a welcome anecdote to the tons of weighty tomes on Voltaire and his endless epistolary relationships. Miss Mitford writes pastry -- light, airy and fluffy and yummy. She lets the others serve up full-course histories, heavy, balanced, probably good for you, but so often bland as oatmeal as just as charming.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid biographies::the love story is the backdrop, April 28, 2002

By 

Cynthia (Las Cruces, NM United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voltaire in Love (Paperback)

I couldn't put this book down, and tore through it in a matter of days. Despite being a voracious reader, it's (sadly) seldom that such a book comes along for me. The main draw for me in purchasing this book is being an avid fan of Voltaire. I had wondered just how strongly the "love story" element of the book would play out, as I'd known prior to purchasing this book that all of the intimate correspondence between Voltaire and Emilie has been lost. I'm not a "love story" kind of person, and was hoping this book would provide more of a strong picture into the personalities, foibles, strengths, habits, and routines of Voltaire primarily, and Emilie secondarily. I was not disappointed.

If you count yourself a lover of Voltaire -- the man and his writings -- then this book is truly a must-read for you. I've read much of his essays, philosophy, short stories, et cetera, and finally (to my immense delight) feel I "know" the man.

The personalities and temperaments of both Voltaire and Emilie were rather as I'd figured they would be, although there were a couple of genuine surprises -- some flattering, some not so flattering.

What continues to make me curious is how these two persons defined the word "love"...the dynamics of their relationship and love was interesting, and sometimes confusing, to say the very least. Ah well, I'm speaking of dead persons here. Respect for their personages and for the deceased prohibit me from going further. And besides, after nine years of marriage, I too admit the word "love" has a myriad of nuances.

Please enjoy this book! Ecrasez l'infame!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a must for scholars, July 4, 2000

By 

[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voltaire in Love (Paperback)

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the literature and history of an absolutely fascinating time period, the eighteenth century. This work is especially interesting not only, of course, to those who study the life and writings of Voltaire, but also to those, like myself, who study the life of Frederick the Great of Prussia. As usual, Mitford's writing style is intriguing and the reader is provided with unforgettable and very human portrayals of the principals. This book is a real "must" for any student of both literature and history. Enjoy!