With the completion of our hitherto core project, the Complete works of Voltaire, the Voltaire Foundation marked a moment of transition. We are taking our expertise in state-of-the-art scholarly editing into the digital realm, with Oxford University Voltaire (OV) now our flagship project. OV will be authoritative in the digital realm in the same way that the Complete works of Voltaire are currently regarded in the world of the printed scholarly edition.
Building on the experience and intellectual heritage of previous digital projects, and with our partners Dan Barker (dancan Ltd) and Open Creative Communications, we have modelled the content of our 205 print volumes so as to enable access to the writings of Voltaire in new ways, while continuing to allow scholars to find the information they want using existing references. The interface is fully bilingual and the data model allows for new pathways into and journeys through Voltaire’s writings.
Libraries can sign up for free trials from September 2025, with the full launch planned for January 2026.
During the course of 2026, databases from our Voltaire Studio will be brought into OV, beginning with the catalogue of Voltaire’s library, the Catalogue of manuscripts relating to Voltaire, and a new iconography database. Our aim is to produce, with OV, a model for other single-author scholarly editions online.
The beauty of a digital edition is that it can be enriched and updated. In early phases, we plan to:
- expand the corpus of letters in Voltaire’s correspondence to reflect discoveries made since the print edition was completed in 1976
- update some of the editions that were brought out in early volumes of the print Complete works (again, in the 1970s and 1980s)
As scholars ourselves, we are aware of the importance of citing stable texts and will thus ensure that any content that is amended or superseded will nevertheless remain available, and that corrections and additions will be indicated as such and dated.
In the longer term, OV will be joined by critical editions of works by other French Enlightenment writers, in the first instance those of Paul Thiry, baron d’Holbach and Françoise de Graffigny. Together they will form the beginnings of Oxford University Enlightenment Library.
Building on the Voltaire Foundation’s existing expertise in producing print critical editions, this ongoing project explores the challenges of producing high-quality scholarly editions digitally. These editions will set a benchmark for best practice in the field, and promote a revaluation of the digital critical edition. The long-term aim of the Oxford University Enlightenment Library is to create a digital resource containing authoritative and interconnected scholarly editions that will have a transformative effect in Enlightenment studies.
Advisory group
Prof. Dan Edelstein (Stanford University)
Prof. Nathalie Ferrand (ITEM, Paris)
Dr James Hanrahan (Trinity College Dublin)
Prof. Jack Iverson (Whitman College)
Prof. Laurence Macé (Université de Rouen)
Dr Sarah Ogilvie (University of Oxford)
Prof. Mikko Tolonen (University of Helsinki)
Prof. Dirk Van Hulle (University of Oxford)
Work on Oxford University Voltaire has been supported by:
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Astra Foundation
British Academy
Fondation Del Duca (Institut de France)
