Book Description
In 1756 Rousseau and Diderot were still close friends, and Rousseau was falling in love with the Countess d'Houdetot. The letters that make up the body of That Infernal Affair reveal the apparently sudden breakdown of these and other relationships of Rousseau, against a background of the Seven Years' War, the Lisbon earthquake, and the brutal judicial system of the Old Rgime in France. Rousseau's break with Diderot represents the watershed separating sentimental attitudes from the rationalism of Enlightenment (embodied in the Encyclopdie), a break that still colors Western thought. The letters (and the editors' preface, notes, and appendix) reveal not only the "facts" of the case and Rousseau's mental state but also the self-serving manipulation of documentary evidence by unscrupulous erstwhile "friends," including Madame d'Epinay and her lover, Baron Grimm.
Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French
That Infernal Affair
FROM THE PUBLISHER
In 1756 Rousseau and Diderot were still close friends, and Rousseau was falling in love with the Countess d'Houdetot. The letters that make up the body of That Infernal Affair reveal the apparently sudden breakdown of these and other relationships of Rousseau, against a background of the Seven Years' War, the Lisbon earthquake, and the brutal judicial system of the Old Rﾽgime in France. Rousseau's break with Diderot represents the watershed separating sentimental attitudes from the rationalism of Enlightenment (embodied in the Encyclopﾽdie), a break that still colors Western thought. The letters (and the editors' preface, notes, and appendix) reveal not only the "facts" of the case and Rousseau's mental state but also the self-serving manipulation of documentary evidence by unscrupulous erstwhile "friends," including Madame d'Epinay and her lover, Baron Grimm.
FROM THE CRITICS
Booknews
Letters and diary entries by several parties document the quarrel between Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) and Denis Diderot (1713-84) that climaxed in 1757 and marks the watershed not only of relations between the two leading lights of 18th-century France, but also between sentimental and rational approaches to the world. They are well annotated and introduced but not indexed at all. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)
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