Complete Works of Voltaire 14

Following the explosive, unauthorised publication of the "Lettres philosophiques", which revealed a new side of Voltaire to the world, a new chapter of his life began at Cirey with his lover Mme Du Châtelet. Nine years were to pass before he could again live openly in Parisian society. However, this period was among the most creative of Voltaire’s life and the multifarious projects of 1734-1735 show an author attacked and exiled but nevertheless able to turn his hand to an astounding range of projects. This volume includes texts as diverse as "Alzire", a tragedy set in sixteenth-century Peru, contrasting the noblest ideals of Christianity to both Incan religion and the dangerous fanaticism of the Conquistadors, the monumental "Traité de métaphysique", and some of Voltaire’s first love poems to the marquise Du Châtelet.