Œuvres complètes de Voltaire (Complete Works of Voltaire) 52

The major part of this volume is taken up by two plays, "Don Pedre" and "Olympie", in which Voltaire attempted to inject dynamism and spectacle into the French theatre while still working in the classical tradition. At the same time Voltaire continued his defence of French literature against foreign, particularly English, influence, with his Avis referring to the prestigious edition of Corneille, and more importantly the "Parallèle d’Horace, de Boileau, et de Pope". Other political, religious and philosophical themes of 1761 are articulated in the remaining texts of the volume.