Œuvres complètes de Voltaire (Complete Works of Voltaire) 8

During 1731 and 1732, only certain of Voltaire's closest friends were allowed to know that he was preoccupied with the composition of "Le Mort de Cesar", "Zaire" and "Le Temple du Gout", the major works to be found in this volume and its successor. Other writings kept him very much in the public eye, but when "Zaire" was eventually staged, it proved an immediate, resounding success. These were years of relatively tranquil literary activity for Voltaire, in spite of official harassment, literary quarrels and perennial ill-health. They saw the consolidation of his fame as a dramatist, and the seeds of the historical and scientific interests which would affect the course of his life so profoundly.