S. Pierse, Voltaire Historiographer: Narrative Paradigms

Sìofra Pierse

Voltaire Historiographer: Narrative Paradigms

Voltaire Foundation

série SVEC (Studies on Voltaire and the Eighteenth Century)

Oxford, 2008

ISBN 9780 7294 09322, 296pp, £55 / €75 (hors taxe) / $115

Prière d'insérer:

Voltaire’s vast historical output reflects his own changing roles and preoccupations from 'conteur' to campaigner.

In this first study to explore the whole range of Voltaire’s historical œuvres, Sìofra Pierse examines the irreducible ambiguity of the term 'histoire', both factual truth and the way it is represented. She then discusses how Voltaire’s theories of history interact with other, more literary considerations, and analyses how a search for truth overlaps with a desire to create a compelling narrative that engages the reader in a deeper, more collaborative and polemical project.

Sommaire:

Introduction: Historiographerie

I Narrative

1. The historiographer

2. The author

3. The reader

II Story

4. Digressions

5. Heroics

III Truth

6. Fact and fable

7. Truth and doubt

Conclusion: beyond history

Appendix: corpus summary

Contact: email@voltaire.ox.ac.uk