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Dr. Antoine Eche from Mount Royal University, presents Voltaire and the tradition of travel writing: his first draft of the Lettres philosophiques.
In 1734, Voltaire published the Lettres philosophiques, a text that has traditionally been perceived as the “first bomb launched against the ancient regime”. This publication draws on Voltaire’s experience gained while he was exiled in England between 1726 and 1729 after an altercation he had with the Chevalier de Rohan, a nobleman.
However, the Lettres philosophiques is not the original text that was published by Voltaire. The French text was preceded in 1733 by a version in English entitled Letters on the English Nation. Critics have looked at the differences between the two texts and have also considered a preliminary draft written in French, known as the Lettre à M***. The perspective retained by the critics is mainly based on the ideological and philosophical framework developed by the author without considering the literary genre that Voltaire chose for his purpose, i.e. the epistolary travel account.
This presentation aims at contextualizing Voltaire’s approach of this genre in the process that led to the writing and publication of the Lettres philosophiques.
Everyone is welcome to attend this free talk.
Contact:
Dr. Alain Flaubert Takam | alain.takam@uleth.ca | 403-329-2561
