Collection: Voltaire

Voltaire, pen name for Parisian Enlightenment writer Francois-Marie Arouet (1694-1778), was a prolific writer and critic of the church, royalty, and government. Well-versed in philosophy and history, he used satire and humor to critique hypocrisy with a scathing wit and thinly veiled allusions to political and philosophical figures. No stranger to scandal, Arouet adopted the pen name Voltaire after an eleven-month stint in the Bastille. He mingled with high society, royalty, and natural philosophers across Europe, and was an intellectual celebrity of his time.  

Of note was his support for the theories of Isaac Newton, which author and Voltaire scholar Adam Roberts speaks to this in the foreword to this publication, A Voltaire Triptych. Voltaire’s masterwork, Candide, has inspired many writers to this day, including Kevin J. Anderson and Neal Peart in their novel Clockwork Angels, published by WordFire Press.