SVEC 2008:05
ISBN 978 0 7294 0932 2, xiii + 283pp, £55 / €75 before tax (hors taxe) / $115
Voltaire’s vast historical output reflects his own changing roles and preoccupations from 'conteur' to campaigner.
In this first study to explore the whole range of Voltaire’s historical œuvres, Sìofra Pierse examines the irreducible ambiguity of the term 'histoire', both factual truth and the way it is represented. She then discusses how Voltaire’s theories of history interact with other, more literary considerations, and analyses how a search for truth overlaps with a desire to create a compelling narrative that engages the reader in a deeper, more collaborative and polemical project.
Introduction: Historiographerie
I Narrative
1. The historiographer
2. The author
3. The reader
II Story
4. Digressions
5. Heroics
III Truth
6. Fact and fable
7. Truth and doubt
Conclusion: beyond history
Appendix: corpus summary
