Voltaire in Love

Nancy Mitford's "Voltaire in Love" offers an enchanting and insightful portrait of one of the Enlightenment's most brilliant, mischievous, and controversial figures, François-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire. Spanning from his early exile to his middle years, the biography primarily delves into his profound and complex 16-year relationship with the extraordinary Émilie du Châtelet, a celebrated mathematician, physicist, and intellectual. Mitford meticulously chronicles their unconventional domestic and intellectual partnership at Cirey, where they built a sanctuary for scientific experimentation, philosophical discourse, and literary creation, all while navigating the strictures and intrigues of 18th-century French society. Far from a conventional romance, their bond was a formidable intellectual alliance, fueled by a shared passion for knowledge, a relentless pursuit of truth, and a mutual contempt for superstition and injustice. Mitford's signature wit and narrative elegance bring to life not only Voltaire's genius and volatile temperament but also the vibrant intellectual landscape of the era, making this a captivating exploration of love, intellect, and the birth of modern thought.