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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

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The Age of Voltaire

By: Will Durant, Ariel Durant
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
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About this listen

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 18th 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 philosophers - 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 philosophers, 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
©2015 Will and Ariel Durant (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Europe Royalty Western Europe England Middle Ages Ancient History Imperialism

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Easy listening history: a sequence of potted biographies of a huge range of characters. Rather monotonous after a while, so take it in shortish sections.

Potted biographies

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