Voltaire

Reviews / Votes

Ian Davidson has done him full justice in this rich biography. He hides nothing of his hero's frailties and faults, but his greatness shines all the more brightly -- Allan Massie * Literary Review * One of the many great merits of this book is that it firmly puts the emphasis on Voltaire as a man. There is no shortage of biographies of Voltaire ... but this is one of the best of them. Full of the revealing detail that French biographers tend to regard as vulgar gossip. -- Andrew Hussey * Financial Times * Davidson is a fastidious debunker of myths and restorer of balance. He tells his story from beginning to end, one year after the next, with an elegant lucidity, and you learn all you need to know about Voltaire's finances, his domestic arrangements and his social life in readable and intelligent form -- Sam Leith * Spectator * Written in the crisp, incisive prose of a practised journalist... research is impressive too. He read all those letters before he began and quotes from them extensively in this refreshing book which isn't afraid, occasionally, to draw its own conclusions against the grain of what has been written before * Independent on Sunday * Written in crisp, incisive prose... his research is impressive * Belfast Telegraph * Expands greatly on the image of Voltaire the philosophe... The picture that emerges is on of Voltaire as a human being, with his own letters providing a fascinating reservoir or information and anecdote... It is the depiction of Voltaire's complex character that makes this biography such a compelling read... opens up many areas of Voltaire's life and debunks some of its mythologies... giving us an insightful and entertaining picture of the man. It's remarkable, too, how easily Voltaire's philosophy of tolerance and justice relates to society today, and Davidson's book is impressive on both counts -- Fionnuala Sinclair * Guardian * Painstaking and reliable... Davidson should be applauded for this warts-and-all portrait... does him full justice * Sunday Herald * Splendidly readable ... This is an entertaining and enlightening account of why Voltaire still matters -- Bee Wilson * Sunday Times * Excellent and timely * Morning Star * Voltaire can be a rather daunting figure, but emerges in very human colours in this excellent biography, which makes splendid use of the philosopher's letters * Sunday Telegraph * It is the signal strength of the biography that grew out of an epistolatory labour of love that Davidson has kept his sights firmly on the man behind the letters rather than the "man of letters" so fetishised by generations of scholars * Irish Times * A compelling read ... an insightful and entertaining picture of the man * Guardian * A fascinating account ... unstuffy and very readable ... very entertaining * NewBooksMag *