Nicholas Cronk is Professor of French Literature in Oxford and Director of the Voltaire Foundation. For the last decade, he has been general editor of the Complete Works of Voltaire. He is also currently Président of the French Société des études voltairiennes, based at the Sorbonne. He has published many editions of individual Voltaire texts, and over fifty articles on Voltaire, in English and French. He has also edited a number of books on Voltaire, including Voltaire and the 1760s (2008), and Les 250 ans de Candide (with N. Ferrand, 2013). He also recently edited the Cambridge Companion to Voltaire (2009) and has edited and introduced two Voltaire works in the Oxford World's Classics series.

[a] brilliant new study ... To squeeze Voltaire into a mere 124 pages of text plus notes is quite the achievement. And yet this book is bursting with complex ideas, perspectives and opinions ... Cronk is perfectly placed to present the most up-to-date imaginable overview of Voltaire, and of Voltaire studies ... His Very Short Introductio is the promise of a very long Voltairean legacy yet to come.

• 1. The actor ; 2. The Epicurean ; 3. The Englishman ; 4. The scientist ; 5. The courtier ; 6. The Swiss exile ; 7. The patriarch ; 8. The after-life ; Further reading ; Index

Nicholas Cronk is Professor of French Literature in Oxford and Director of the Voltaire Foundation. For the last decade, he has been general editor of the Complete Works of Voltaire. He is also currently Président of the French Société des études voltairiennes, based at the Sorbonne. He has published many editions of individual Voltaire texts, and over fifty articles on Voltaire, in English and French. He has also edited a number of books on Voltaire, including Voltaire and the 1760s (2008), and Les 250 ans de Candide (with N. Ferrand, 2013). He also recently edited the Cambridge Companion to Voltaire (2009) and has edited and introduced two Voltaire works in the Oxford World's Classics series.

[a] brilliant new study ... To squeeze Voltaire into a mere 124 pages of text plus notes is quite the achievement. And yet this book is bursting with complex ideas, perspectives and opinions ... Cronk is perfectly placed to present the most up-to-date imaginable overview of Voltaire, and of Voltaire studies ... His Very Short Introductio is the promise of a very long Voltairean legacy yet to come.

• 1. The actor ; 2. The Epicurean ; 3. The Englishman ; 4. The scientist ; 5. The courtier ; 6. The Swiss exile ; 7. The patriarch ; 8. The after-life ; Further reading ; Index

Nicholas Cronk is Professor of French Literature in Oxford and Director of the Voltaire Foundation. For the last decade, he has been general editor of the Complete Works of Voltaire. He is also currently Président of the French Société des études voltairiennes, based at the Sorbonne. He has published many editions of individual Voltaire texts, and over fifty articles on Voltaire, in English and French. He has also edited a number of books on Voltaire, including Voltaire and the 1760s (2008), and Les 250 ans de Candide (with N. Ferrand, 2013). He also recently edited the Cambridge Companion to Voltaire (2009) and has edited and introduced two Voltaire works in the Oxford World's Classics series.

[a] brilliant new study ... To squeeze Voltaire into a mere 124 pages of text plus notes is quite the achievement. And yet this book is bursting with complex ideas, perspectives and opinions ... Cronk is perfectly placed to present the most up-to-date imaginable overview of Voltaire, and of Voltaire studies ... His Very Short Introductio is the promise of a very long Voltairean legacy yet to come.

• 1. The actor ; 2. The Epicurean ; 3. The Englishman ; 4. The scientist ; 5. The courtier ; 6. The Swiss exile ; 7. The patriarch ; 8. The after-life ; Further reading ; Index