La grande histoire au prisme de la petite histoire dans les Mémoires de Voltaire
History seen through the prism of anecdotal history in Voltaire’s Memoirs

Summary/Abstract: Voltaire composed his Memoirs of the Life of Monsieur de Voltaire: Written by Himself at approximately the same time as his novel Candide, or Optimism published in 1759. For this reason, these Memoirs occupy a central place in the philosopher’s work. Combining ironic comment on the important historic events and salacious gossip of the world, they trace very briefly 25 years of Voltaire’s life. The author of this paper tries to analyse the relationship between the memorialist’s style, strongly coloured with the grotesque, and his vision of history. Next, he juxtaposes the Memoirs with Voltaire’s historical works. Finally, he demonstrates the close affinity between their non-linear representations of history, despite differences in their style.

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