Précis du siècle de Louis XV (I-III)
Author: Voltaire
Volume: 29A-29C
Series: Œuvres complètes de Voltaire
Volume Editors: Janet Godden, James Hanrahan
Series Collaborators: Janet Godden, James Hanrahan, John Renwick, Ruggero Sciuto
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 1560
ISBN: 978-0-7294-1228-5
Price: £330

About
The Précis du siècle de Louis XV is an account of Voltaire’s own world. His sources are the memoirs of leading military or political figures, many known to him personally, the wide range of archives and state papers to which he had access as historiographe de France, what he reads in the press, and what he picks up in conversation. We have moved from Voltaire historian to Voltaire the shrewd eye-witness, writing with vivacity of what he has seen and heard.
In this edition, the editors present a comprehensive introduction to the work, detailing the genesis and evolution of the text through its many iterations. The introduction is followed by the 43 chapters of the Précis, continuing the story from the death of Louis XIV, through the Regency, the War of Austrian Succession, and the Seven Years War, Voltaire finally turning his attention to French domestic politics and the attempted assassination of the king by Damiens, in the context of the struggle between the crown and the parlement.
This edition was shortlisted for the 2022 Literary Encyclopedia Book Prize.
Table of contents
I: Introduction, chapters 1-16 (OCV, vol.29A, 2019)
II: Chapters 17-43, Appendices, Représentation aux Etats de l’Empire (OCV, vol.29B, 2020)
III: Histoire de la guerre de 1741, General Index (OCV, vol.29C, 2020)
Reviews
This edition should make it possible to study these works in new ways and will substantially expand our understanding of Voltaire’s work as an historian. Bravo!
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