Now available: Complete Works of Voltaire, vol.6A-6C, Lettres sur les Anglais (I-III), Oxford, Voltaire Foundation, 2022, ISBN 978-0-7294-1234-6, April 2022, hb, 4 vol.

The ‘Lettres sur les Anglais’ (also known as the ‘Lettres philosophiques’) is one of the key masterpieces of the European eighteenth century, a manifesto of Enlightenment thinking that helped to shape a way of understanding the world which remains influential to this day. Drawing on his stay in England (1726-1728), Voltaire’s ‘Lettres’ are made up of a series of short articles, covering a range of themes, from religion and politics to literature, and they present an overall view of contemporary English culture. Voltaire experiments with a new type of cultural history, suggesting the interconnection of religious tolerance, political freedom and a dynamic literary culture. This edition includes the original English version, the ‘Letters concerning the English nation’, as well the clandestine ‘Lettre sur M. Locke’ in which Voltaire’s materialist thinking received its fullest expression.

Stephen Ashworth, Voltaire Foundation, University of Oxford

For more information, see: https://www.voltaire.ox.ac.uk/publication/lettres-sur-les-anglais-i-iii/