Author: VOLTAIRE. - Histoire de Charles XII, roi de Suède. B - Lot 770

Author: VOLTAIRE. - Histoire de Charles XII, roi de Suède. Basle, Chez Christophe Revis, 1731; in-12, IV-355 + 365 pp, bound in full contemporary calf, 5-rib spine, red morocco title-piece, mottled edges. All 2 volumes. François-Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire, 18th-century philosopher and man of letters, symbol of the Enlightenment, was the epitome of a committed intellectual and the power of public opinion. Educated by the Jesuits, Voltaire excelled in rhetoric and versification. He soon went against the grain of this upbringing and joined the society of libertines, shining in the salons, even joking about the relationship between the Regent and his daughter, which earned him 11 months in the Bastille. Voltaire soon achieved literary success with La Henriade. Following the Rohan-Chabot affair, he was once again imprisoned, but soon released on condition of exile. Voltaire left for England, met Emilie Du Châtelet and was received at the court of Lunéville. Returning to Paris, he soon left to visit Frederick II in Berlin, before settling in Ferney near Geneva. Few writers were as prolific as Voltaire. 40 0