Book description
After a period of forced exile and solitary wandering brought about by
his radical views on religion and politics, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
returned to Paris in 1770. Here, in the last two years of his life, he
wrote his final work, the Reveries. In this eloquent masterpiece the
great political thinker describes his sense of isolation from a society
he felt had rejected his writings - and the manner in which he has come
to terms with his alienation, as he walks around Paris, gazing at
plants, day-dreaming and finding comfort in the virtues of solitude and
the natural world. Meditative, amusing and lyrical, this is a
fascinating exploration of Rousseau's thought as he looks back over his
life, searching to justify his actions, to defend himself against his
critics and to elaborate upon his philosophy.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva in 1712. Abandoned by his
father at the age of ten, he left the city in 1728 and from then on
wandered Europe, searching for happiness. In 1732 he settled for eight
years at Les Charmettes, remembered in his book Confessions. In 1741
he moved to Paris where he met Diderot, in the meantime fathering five
children, all of whom he abandoned. His corwning achievement is his
work of political philosophy, The Social Contract, which was published
in 1762. He died in 1778.
Peter France is the author of books on French and Russian literature
and has translated widely from both languages.
