This fifth and final volume completes the critical edition of the letters of French philosopher Claude Adrien Helvétius (1715-1771), author of the controversial De l'Esprit (1758), and of his wife, née Anne Catherine de Ligniville (1722-1800), who ran her own salon in Auteuil after her husband's death. The essential component in this last volume is the detailed index – an indispensable instrument for researchers who wish to make full use of the correspondence. The volume also includes four new letters discovered since the appearance of the first four volumes, errata, additions and modifications to the critical apparatus, the text of letters excluded from the edition proper, genealogies of the families of Helvétius and his wife, and a chronological list of all letters mentioned in the edition.

 

The previous volumes of this edition have enjoyed international acclaim. "All students of the French Enlightenment will be deeply indebted to D.W. Smith and his team for this superbly conceived and organized collaborative achievement. When complete the Toronto Helvétius will rank among the truly outstanding examples of twentieth-century editorial and bibliographical scholarship." (David Williams, French Studies)

Claude Adrien Helvétius (1715-1771) was a French philosopher, freemason, and littérateur.

Claude Adrien Helvétius' profile page

David Smith, author of the British best-seller Free Lunch, is economics editor of The Sunday Times and an economic adviser to Rupert Murdoch. He is a familiar voice on British radio and television, commentating on economic matters.

David Smith's profile page

Peter Allan is a professor of French at Mount Allison University.

Peter Allan's profile page

Alan Dainard is a professor of French at University of Toronto

Alan Dainard's profile page

Marie-Thérèse Inguenaud is a professor of French at the University of Paris VII

Marie-Thérèse Inguenaud's profile page

Jean Orsoni is a professor of French at the University of Quebec at Trois-Riv�res.

Jean Orsoni's profile page

Jonas Steffen teaches at the University of Strasbourg (Robert Schuman).

Jonas Steffen's profile page