interest in literature and science, we collected over 21,000 books. She worked hard on translating many scientific books from English to French and also read many books on philosophy and mathematics. We spent much time discussing philosophical and scientific theories, sometimes disagreeing. In 1738, with Émilie’s help, I published a book called Elements of the Philosophy of Newton which helped to make his theories of gravity known to people outside the world of science.
In 1742, I was sent by King Louis XV to Prussia on a secret trip to encourage the new king – Frederick II – to fight on the side of France in the War of the Austrian Succession. This was a series of wars lasting from 1740 until 1748 that began with the death of Charles VI, who was the Holy Roman Emperor. The wars were to decide who should take his place, as many royal figures thought they had the right to do so. Before Frederick had become king, he had read and enjoyed some of my work. He started writing to me and we became friends. I was successful in persuading him to fight on the side of France, and King Louis XV, who had never liked me personally, decided he would give me his attention once more. I was welcomed back into the elite social circles in France. From science, I turned my interest to history and, in 1745, King Louis XV made me the Royal Historiographer of France. A year later, I was elected to the French Academy. This institution had been set up in 1634 by Cardinal de Richelieu, who was the chief advisor of King Louis XIII, to protect the quality of literature and language.
In 1750, I was feeling unwelcome in Paris and disappointed with my life. Émilie had died the year before and I was terribly upset. Some of my recent plays had not been popular and although I was generally accepted in the royal court, there were very many people there who did not like me and certainly did not trust me. I had always found it difficult to keep my opinions to myself and I was constantly in trouble for having said or written tactless or cruel things about famous aristocrats or members of the Church. When my friend Frederick II invited me to go to his court in Potsdam near Berlin to be his official poet and philosopher, I accepted.
In the beginning things went well for me there. I wrote The Age of Louis XIV in 1751 and then the following year a short story called Micromegas was published. But then I began to quarrel with a man called Maupertuis who was President of the Scientific Academy in Berlin. I thought he was ridiculous and stupid and I wrote a long article about him which, although funny, was also really quite offensive. Frederick was furious with me and forbade me from ever coming to Berlin again. I left Prussia on 26th March 1753 and by the time I was nearing Paris, news of Frederick’s anger had reached King Louis XV. He did not allow me to enter the city of Paris so I had to make other plans.
In 1754, I went to Geneva in Switzerland where I bought a large estate called Les Délices and I continued writing and producing plays. I met Jean-Jacques Rousseau who was a political philosopher and a composer, whose ideas later had great influence. However, Rousseau and I started to have serious philosophical disagreements. A recommendation by him that theatre was completely unnecessary and even harmful was partly responsible for theatrical performances being banned in Geneva and, without the theatre, I felt there was no reason for me to stay. In addition, in my usual satirical way, I had made the Swiss feel uneasy. By 1758, it was time for me to leave.
I moved back to France to a village called Ferney, which was close to the border with Switzerland. I bought a large house and land where I entertained many important, influential people who came to watch my plays. I also supported local industry so that the ordinary people of Ferney, who had no civil rights, could work and make a living. I wanted to help the local community in any way I could. Naturally, I experienced opposition from the local aristocracy, who thought I was causing trouble by behaving like a revolutionary. Later on, after the French Revolution, the ordinary people of Ferney changed the name of the village to Ferney-Voltaire and a statue of me with the words ‘Patriarch of Ferney’ was built.
I stayed in Ferney for 20 years and because of the work I wrote and published during this time people began to see me differently. In 1759, I published a short story called Candide, which became my most famous book. As well as writing professionally, I enjoyed writing letters and I wrote to a great many people. One of them was Catherine II – Catherine the Great – of Russia. I also started writing again to my old friend, Frederick II, who had, by this time, forgiven me. In addition to Candide, I also published many other books including the popular philosophical work Dictionnaire Philosophique, in 1764. This was followed by L’Ingénu in 1767 and Questions sur l’Encyclopédie which was published in nine books between 1770 and 1772.
When I was 83 years old, I decided to return to Paris. The year was 1778. My latest play, a tragedy called Irène was going to be performed and I wanted to be present for the rehearsals and preparation. On the day after I arrived in Paris, more than 300 people came to my house to visit me. Three months later, on 30th May, I died peacefully in my sleep. It appears that after being away for 28 years I had come back as a popular man – some people even called me a hero.
The Life of Voltaire
| 1694 | Voltaire was born in Paris, France and given the name François-Marie Arouet. He was the youngest of five children, but sadly only three of his brothers and sisters survived. | |
| 1701 | His mother, Marie, died. | |
| 1704–1711 | At the age of 10, Voltaire was enrolled at the Collège Louis-le-Grand, where he was educated by Catholic priests. He expressed a love of literature and theatre, and a talent for writing poetry. | |
| 1711–1712 | He wanted to study literature. However, his father had plans for him to study law. He agreed to study law, but, in the meantime, he wrote poetry in secret. | |
| 1713 | His father sent him to Caen, Normandy when he discovered he had been writing poetry instead of studying law. Work was also arranged for Voltaire in the Netherlands as a secretary to the French ambassador. It was there that he planned to run away and marry Catherine Olympe Dunoyer, a French Protestant refugee. His father discovered their plans and sent him back to France. | |
| 1714 | His satirical work started causing problems. His father sent him away again to live with the Marquis de Saint-Ange, who lived in the country. | |
| 1715 | He returned to Paris and became involved with the famous ‘Court of Sceaux’, a social circle run by the Duchesse du Maine. | |
| 1716 | He insulted the Duc d’Orléans and was exiled to Tulle. | |
| 1717 | He was sent to the Bastille prison for writing an offensive poem about an aristocrat. He stayed there for 11 months and wrote his first play, Oedipe, and began to write La Henriade. | |
| 1718 | He was released from the Bastille. Around that time, he chose the pen name Voltaire. Oedipe was first performed and was very successful. | |
| 1722–1723 | His father died. Voltaire began working as a secret diplomat for Cardinal Guillaume Dubois. He travelled to Cambrai, Brussels and The Hague. He published his poem La Henriade. | |
| 1725 | Voltaire was a guest at the wedding of King Louis XV. | |
| 1726–1728 |