Letters on the English - Definition

Voltaire studied in England between 1726 and 1728. He grew quite fluent in English, and eventually published Letters Concerning the English Nation (also known as Letters on the English) in that language in 1733. It was a series of essays concerning his thoughts on the religion, politics, and culture of England. He later rewrote the entire text in French and published it as Lettres Philosophiques. Most modern English versions are based upon a translation of Voltaire's French text, rather than Voltaire's original English verison.

In some ways, the book can be compaired to Democracy in America by Alexis De Tocqueville, in how it flatteringly explains a nation to itself from the perspective of an outsider.

External Links

• Letters on The English (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1778voltaire-lettres.html) at Internet Modern History Sourcebook
• Letters Concerning the English Nation ISBN 0192837087