Complete Works of Voltaire 31A

The year 1749 was to prove a sombre one for Voltaire. His relationships with Mme Du Chatelet and Mme Denis were both in highly emotional and uncertain stages, culminating in Voltaire's utter devastation at the death of Mme Du Chatelet in September, and his ensuing need to lay the foundations of a new existence, initially in Paris and with his oldest friends. It is against this backdrop that one must envisage his literary activities in 1749. His central preoccupation was with his theatrical 'duel' with the elder Crebillon, and his response to Crebillon's challenge, the composition and staging of "Rome sauvee" and "Oreste" are described in detail in this volume, together with his "Dissertation" on the staging, ancient and modern, of the tragedy of Electra.