Life of Moliere: A New Reader's Edition

The text recounts key episodes: Molière's bouts with illness, the controversies surrounding plays such as Tartuffe, Don Juan, and The School for Wives, and finally his tragic death after collapsing during a performance. In addition to the story, Voltaire offers critical judgments of Molière's works hence the subtitle "with judgments of his works" explaining what he found brilliant or flawed. For example, Voltaire praises Molière's wit and his ability to satirize hypocrisy, while criticizing some of his later plays for their uneven style. Voltaire also shows the social reception of each play and the obstacles Molière faced from censors and moralists. In style, the biography is part historical account, part literary criticism: Voltaire treats his subject with admiration, but does not shy away from analyzing Molière's art. The overall portrayal is of a "difficult figure whose brilliance in comedy did not shield him from hardship," showing how an artist of great talent faced persistent prejudices in 17th century society.

This presentation of Life of Moliere adds an afterword tracing Voltaire's intellectual relationships with Enlightenment thinkers and philosophers (including Locke, Diderot, Rousseau and Newton), containing research into his influences and economic attachments, a complete timeline of his life and works, a glossary of Enlightenment terminology, and a detailed index of all of Voltaire's writings. The translation of Life of Moliere renders Voltaire's sharp satirical prose in modern English while preserving its clarity and pace. Contextual material in the volume frames Life of Moliere within Voltaire's literary, philosophical, and later theological influence.