Voltaire, 'Writings of 1723-1728 (I)'

This volume of the scholarly edition of the 'Complete Works of Voltaire' brings together works substantially composed in the years 1723–1728, a period of bold experimentation for the thirty-year-old Voltaire. An established tragedian, he now branched out in a wholly new direction with his one-act comedy, 'L’Indiscret', performed for the first time in August 1725. This is also the period in which, for the first time, Voltaire began to conceive substantial works in prose. This volume contains the authenticated text of the Voltaire's works along with variant readings, a critical annotation and an introductory commentary setting out in detail the genesis, composition and reception of the text along with a critical interpretation.