François Marie Arouet dit Voltaire 1694-1778

Well you probably heard of Voltaire the author of Candide which was made into a musical by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. He wrote many works in his lifetime and his writings challenged the establishment in France and elsewhere in Europe.
Unfortunately like many famous historical figures he has become a bit of a caricature. Popular culture sort of reduces everything to a cliché. So in Montreal I went into one of my favorite bookstore on Green Ave in Westmount, Nicholas Hoare, westmount@nicholashoare.ca , they always have the nicest collection of books. I saw this book, a biography of Voltaire by Ian Davidson, published by Pegasus Books. Davidson took over 1860 letters written by Voltaire during his life to friends, acquaintances, Kings and government officials. It's Voltaire speaking and talking about himself, his life, a very personal, intimate portrait of the man. He suffered from depression, he wanted to be recognized and loved, he was a syncophant, he suffered from erectile disfunction at 50, he had an incestuous affair with his niece Madame Denis who was 20 years younger than he was. He also lacked judgement sometimes and fancied himself a great spy, he was simply an amateur in diplomacy, especially when he wanted to reconcile France and Prussia. He spoke English well and also wrote in English. He became very rich early on in life, he had a very difficult relationship with his father and his brother Armand.

                                              François Marie Arouet, Voltaire
                                                         (1694-1778)


He became the epitome of the age of French Enlightenment, a new man who challenged by his writings the Ancien Regime and was hated by the Roman Catholic Church for exposing its hypocrisy and corruption.   He never sought to become the leading figure of the Enlightenment movement nor the leader of anything for that matter, but in his life time he was famous and controversial all over Europe. He feared rivals or persecution by the authorities, he was intensely ambitious for literary success, his career was marked by feuds and crises. It certainly gives me a better appreciation for the man who in Canada is remembered for saying that '' Canada was nothing more than a few hectares of snow''. In his life time France lost North America to England to the regret of every French government since.  This biography shows the man in his greatness but also as a human being, capable of folly and pettiness, who in the latter part of his life realized that he was part of a greater movement heralding a totally new age.