Voltaire and the Theatre of the Eighteenth Century - 9780313303029

Voltaire and the Theatre of the Eighteenth CenturyAuthor(s): Marvin A. Carlson\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, United States\nImprint: Praeger Publishers Inc\nISBN-13: 9780313303029, 978-0313303029\nSynopsis\nBorn in the final years of the seventeenth century, and dying a decade before the beginning of the French Revolution, Voltaire was a quintessential figure of the eighteenth century, so much so that this era is sometimes called the Age of Voltaire. At a time when French culture dominated Europe, Voltaire dominated French culture. His influence was broad and powerful, and he made major contributions to almost every sphere of intellectual activity, including the sciences, trade and commerce, politics, and especially the arts. Despite the astonishing range of his literary activities, the theatre occupied a central position in his life from the beginning of his career to its close. His first and last literary triumphs were plays, the first written when he was.