The Age of Voltaire, Will Durant
The Age of Voltaire, Will Durant
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The Age of Voltaire
A History of Civlization in Western Europe from 1715 to 1756, with Special Emphasis on the Conflict between Religion and Philosophy

Author: Will Durant, Ariel Durant

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Unabridged: 42 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/01/2015

Synopsis

The Age of Voltaire, the ninth volume of the Story of Civilization, is an in-depth examination of France and England in the first half of the eighteenth century. In this masterful work, listeners will encounter the English ideas that inspired the Enlightenment in France—skepticism, scientific experiment, constitutional government, "natural rights," and individual liberty; the salons of Paris, where the wits and thinkers of all Europe gathered to exchange ideas; the philosophes—intellectuals, playwrights, and poets who consulted and consorted with kings and queens; Voltaire himself—the incarnation of the Enlightenment and a devotee of reason who still defended religious faith; Mme. Pompadour, patron of the philosophes, who seduced King Louis XV and through him influenced French policy; the Augustan Age in English literature—Alexander Pope's poetry, Jonathan Swift's satires, and the novels of Samuel Richardson and Henry Fielding; and the growing parasitism of the aristocracy and rising power of the commercial class.

About Will Durant

Will Durant (1885–1981) was an award-winning American writer, historian, and philosopher. He and his wife were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968 for Rousseau and Revolution, and he was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Durant spent over forty years writing the critically acclaimed eleven-volume Story of Civilization, the later volumes with the help of his wife, Ariel. He sought to revitalize history by unifying and humanizing the great body of historical knowledge, which had become voluminous and fragmented into esoteric subcategories. He also strove to bring philosophy to the common man. Durant was a champion of human rights, social reform, and the brotherhood of man long before they became well-known issues.

About Ariel Durant

Ariel Durant (1898–1981) was a Russian-born American researcher and writer and the coauthor of the eleven-volume Story of Civilization with her husband Will Durant. Ariel and Will Durant were jointly awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977. Ariel was named the 1977 Woman of the Year by the City of Los Angeles.

About Grover Gardner

Grover Gardner is an award-winning narrator with over a thousand titles to his credit. Named one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, he has won three prestigious Audie Awards.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Roy on January 06, 2017

I do not wish to belittle reason, but it should be the servant of love, not of pride With this volume we reach the third chapter in the Age of Reason, culminating in the figure of Voltaire, who died a decade before the French Revolution. The Age of Voltaire is somewhat different from the precedin......more

Goodreads review by W.D. on January 12, 2020

A stunning achievement of erudition, intellectual sympathy, and skepticism (the latter always tempered by unparalleled moderation). I cannot recommend this more heartily, and am only sad that I will not be reading its sequel (Rousseau and Revolution) for a while, as I want to fill in some of the gap......more

Goodreads review by J on April 04, 2022

What an age! When being the smartest person in the room could get you killed.......more

Goodreads review by Jamie on November 29, 2022

As with the previous volumes of the Durants’ Story of Civilization, since I can add little to their own insights, I will let them speak for themselves. History and Society - When we cease to honor Voltaire we shall be unworthy of freedom. - echoing Plato across two thousand years, democracy falls into......more

Goodreads review by Erik on July 15, 2013

Will and Ariel Durants' Story of Civilization series is unlike most histories in that they pay considerable attention to the lives of ordinary persons, and women, in addition to describing the political, cultural and scientific 'accomplishments' of great men. Will Durant is especially good in explic......more

Quotes

“A fine work of popularization…The Durants show an acute appreciation of the quality of this particular period.” New Yorker

“The Durants provide a period panorama par excellence, a compound of history and biography in which indeed man makes history, not history the man. Voltaire becomes the pivot for the age, with his deification of reason and anti-clerical stance…They are at their enthusiastic best when filling out the portraits of their immense cast, but their compass, their comprehension of the political, social, economic, scientific, philosophic, artistic realities, set in the perspective of their theme, offer a unified over-view of life in France, England, Middle Europe…A popular cultural spectacular.” Kirkus Reviews

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