A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
147-464: Former Former François-Marie Arouet ( French: [fʁɑ̃swa maʁi aʁwɛ] ; 21 November 1694 – 30 May 1778), known by his nom de plume M. de Voltaire ( / v ɒ l ˈ t ɛər , v oʊ l -/ , US also / v ɔː l -/ ; French: [vɔltɛːʁ] ), was a French Enlightenment writer, philosopher ( philosophe ), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit and his criticism of Christianity (especially of
294-496: A haigō (俳号). The haiku poet Matsuo Bashō had used two other haigō before he became fond of a banana plant ( bashō ) that had been given to him by a disciple and started using it as his pen name at the age of 36. Similar to a pen name, Japanese artists usually have a gō or art-name , which might change a number of times during their career. In some cases, artists adopted different gō at different stages of their career, usually to mark significant changes in their life. One of
441-542: A Swedish author of the 19th century, wrote under the name Ernst Ahlgren. The science fiction author Alice B. Sheldon for many years published under the masculine name of James Tiptree, Jr. , the discovery of which led to a deep discussion of gender in the genre. More recently, women who write in genres commonly written by men sometimes choose to use initials, such as K. A. Applegate , C. J. Cherryh , P. N. Elrod , D. C. Fontana , S. E. Hinton , G. A. Riplinger , J. D. Robb , and J. K. Rowling . Alternatively, they may use
588-600: A contrary example with his own plays, decrying what he considered Shakespeare's barbarities. Voltaire may have been present at the funeral of Isaac Newton , and met Newton's niece Catherine Conduitt . In 1727, Voltaire published two essays in English, Upon the Civil Wars of France, Extracted from Curious Manuscripts and Upon Epic Poetry of the European Nations, from Homer Down to Milton . He also published
735-508: A few days before his death, Louis XIV added a codicil to his will : He sent for the Chancellor and wrote a last codicil to his will, in the presence of Mme de Maintenon. He was yielding, out of sheer fatigue, to his wife and confessor, probably with the reservation that his extraordinary action would be set aside after his death, like the will itself. Otherwise he would have been deliberately condemning his kingdom to perpetual strife, for
882-470: A job for him as a secretary to the new French ambassador in the Netherlands, the marquis de Châteauneuf [ fr ] , the brother of Voltaire's godfather. At The Hague , Voltaire fell in love with a French Protestant refugee named Catherine Olympe Dunoyer (known as 'Pimpette'). Their affair, considered scandalous, was discovered by de Châteauneuf and Voltaire was forced to return to France by
1029-928: A large estate ( Les Délices ) in early 1755. Though he was received openly at first, the law in Geneva, which banned theatrical performances, and the publication of The Maid of Orleans against his will soured his relationship with Calvinist Genevans. In late 1758, he bought an even larger estate at Ferney , on the French side of the Franco-Swiss border . The town would adopt his name, calling itself Ferney-Voltaire, and this became its official name in 1878. Early in 1759, Voltaire completed and published Candide, ou l'Optimisme ( Candide, or Optimism ). This satire on Leibniz's philosophy of optimistic determinism remains Voltaire's best-known work. He would stay in Ferney for most of
1176-510: A letter about the Quakers after attending one of their services. After two and a half years in exile, Voltaire returned to France, and after a few months in Dieppe , the authorities permitted him to return to Paris. At a dinner, French mathematician Charles Marie de La Condamine proposed buying up the lottery that was organized by the French government to pay off its debts, and Voltaire joined
1323-663: A meeting in September 1742 at Aix-la-Chapelle . Voltaire was sent to Frederick's court in 1743 by the French government as an envoy and spy to gauge Frederick's military intentions in the War of the Austrian Succession . Though deeply committed to the Marquise, Voltaire by 1744 found life at her château confining. On a visit to Paris that year, he found a new love—his niece. At first, his attraction to Marie Louise Mignot
1470-459: A pen name is employed to avoid overexposure. Prolific authors for pulp magazines often had two and sometimes three short stories appearing in one issue of a magazine; the editor would create several fictitious author names to hide this from readers. Robert A. Heinlein wrote stories under the pseudonyms of Anson MacDonald (a combination of his middle name and his then-wife's maiden name) and Caleb Strong so that more of his works could be published in
1617-518: A performance of Irene , where he was treated by the audience as a returning hero. He soon became ill again and died on 30 May 1778. The accounts of his deathbed have been numerous and varying, and it has not been possible to establish the details of what precisely occurred. His enemies related that he repented and accepted the last rites from a Catholic priest, or that he died in agony of body and soul, while his adherents told of his defiance to his last breath. According to one story of his last words, when
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#17327661110651764-511: A private audience with the Duke of Orléans, his nephew and son-in-law, re-assuring him: You will find nothing in my will that should displease you. I commend the Dauphin to you, serve him as loyally as you have served me. Do your utmost to preserve his realm. If he were to die, you would be the master. [...] I have made what I believed to be the wisest and fairest arrangements for the well-being of
1911-539: A significant marriage with a foreign princess unlikely, or so Louis XIV told his brother, Monsieur , when persuading him to accept the king's legitimised daughter, Françoise Marie de Bourbon (known as Mademoiselle de Blois ), as wife for Philippe. The king offered a dowry of two million livres with his daughter's hand (not to be paid until the Nine Years' War was over), as well as the Palais-Royal for
2058-670: A similar style to Voltaire's other works. Almost all of his more substantive works, whether in verse or prose, are preceded by prefaces of one sort or another, which are models of his caustic yet conversational tone. In a vast variety of nondescript pamphlets and writings, he displays his skills at journalism. In pure literary criticism his principal work is the Commentaire sur Corneille , although he wrote many more similar works—sometimes (as in his Life and Notices of Molière ) independently and sometimes as part of his Siècles . Voltaire's works, especially his private letters, frequently urge
2205-490: A single magazine. Stephen King published four novels under the name Richard Bachman because publishers did not feel the public would buy more than one novel per year from a single author. Eventually, after critics found a large number of style similarities, publishers revealed Bachman's true identity. Sometimes a pen name is used because an author believes that their name does not suit the genre they are writing in. Western novelist Pearl Gray dropped his first name and changed
2352-495: A state visit by Tsar Peter the Great . He acted in plays of Molière and Racine , composed an opera , and was a gifted painter and engraver . Philippe favoured Jansenism which, despite papal condemnation, was accepted by the French bishops, and he revoked Louis XIV's compliance with the bull Unigenitus . At first, he decreased taxation and dismissed 25,000 soldiers. But the inquisitorial measures which he had begun against
2499-489: A stroke. Throughout his life Philippe had many mistresses ; his wife came to prefer living quietly at Saint-Cloud, the Palais-Royal, or her house at Bagnolet. His most famous mistress was arguably Marie-Thérèse de Parabère , who was his main mistress during almost the entire regency, with other high profile affairs being those with Madame de Sabran , Madame d'Averne and Marie-Thérèse Blonel de Phalaris . Upon
2646-460: A unisex pen name, such as Robin Hobb (the second pen name of novelist Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden ). A collective name , also known as a house name , is published under one pen name even though more than one author may have contributed to the series. In some cases, the first books in the series were written by one writer, but subsequent books were written by ghostwriters . For instance, many of
2793-401: A universal context, rejecting both nationalism and the traditional Christian frame of reference. Influenced by Bossuet 's Discourse on Universal History (1682), he was the first scholar to attempt seriously a history of the world, eliminating theological frameworks, and emphasizing economics, culture and political history. He treated Europe as a whole rather than a collection of nations. He was
2940-575: A writer, against the wishes of his father, who wanted him to become a lawyer. Voltaire, pretending to work in Paris as an assistant to a notary, spent much of his time writing poetry. When his father found out, he sent Voltaire to study law, this time in Caen , Normandy. But the young man continued to write, producing essays and historical studies. Voltaire's wit made him popular among some of the aristocratic families with whom he mixed. In 1713, his father obtained
3087-418: Is a novella that comments on, criticizes, and ridicules many events, thinkers and philosophies of his time, most notably Gottfried Leibniz and his belief that our world is of necessity the "best of all possible worlds". François-Marie Arouet was born in Paris, the youngest of the five children of François Arouet, a lawyer who was a minor treasury official, and his wife, Marie Marguerite Daumard, whose family
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#17327661110653234-664: Is difficult to trace the authorship of many earlier literary works from India. Later writers adopted the practice of using the name of their deity of worship or Guru's name as their pen name. In this case, typically the pen name would be included at the end of the prose or poetry. Composers of Indian classical music used pen names in compositions to assert authorship, including Sadarang , Gunarang ( Fayyaz Ahmed Khan ), Ada Rang (court musician of Muhammad Shah ), Sabrang ( Bade Ghulam Ali Khan ), and Ramrang ( Ramashreya Jha ). Other compositions are apocryphally ascribed to composers with their pen names. Japanese poets who write haiku often use
3381-557: Is known. Romance writer Nora Roberts writes erotic thrillers under the pen name J. D. Robb (such books were originally listed as by "J. D. Robb" and are now titled "Nora Roberts writing as J. D. Robb"); Scots writer Iain Banks wrote mainstream or literary fiction under his own name and science fiction under Iain M. Banks; Samuel Langhorne Clemens used the aliases Mark Twain and Sieur Louis de Conte for different works. Similarly, an author who writes both fiction and non-fiction (such as
3528-472: Is used as a synonym for "pen name" ( plume means 'pen'). However, it is not the French usage, according to H. W. Fowler and F. G. Fowler in The King's English , but instead a "back-translation" from English. The French usage is nom de guerre (a more generalised term for 'pseudonym'). Since guerre means 'war' in French, nom de guerre confused some English speakers, who "corrected"
3675-503: The Berlin Academy of Science and a former rival for Émilie's affections, provoked Voltaire's Diatribe du docteur Akakia ("Diatribe of Doctor Akakia"), which satirized some of Maupertuis's theories and his persecutions of a mutual acquaintance, Johann Samuel König . This greatly angered Frederick, who ordered all copies of the document burned. On 1 January 1752, Voltaire offered to resign as chamberlain and return his insignia of
3822-535: The Chevalier de Lorraine ; the two would remain together till the death of the Duke of Orléans in 1701. In the following year, the Duke of Orléans married Princess Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate , only daughter of Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine , and Landgravine Charlotte of Hesse-Kassel . The new Duchess of Orléans, who had converted from Protestantism to Catholicism just before entering France,
3969-599: The Duke of Berwick , in Spain, and of the imperial troops in Sicily , Philip V made peace with the regent (1720). From the beginning of 1721, Philip V of Spain , and the Duke of Orléans had been negotiating the project of three Franco-Spanish marriages in order to cement tense relations between Spain and France. The young Louis XV of France would marry the three-year-old Infanta Mariana Victoria who would thus become Queen of France;
4116-575: The House of La Tour d'Auvergne . In 1685, the Cardinal de Bouillon had refused to take part in the marriage of the Duke of Bourbon and Françoise Marie's sister, Mademoiselle de Nantes , and, as a result, had been sent into exile, but he was recalled for the wedding of Françoise-Marie and the Duke of Chartres. After the ceremony, a banquet was given in the Hall of Mirrors with all the princes and princesses of
4263-459: The Huguenot merchant Jean Calas . Calas had been tortured to death in 1763, supposedly because he had murdered his eldest son for wanting to convert to Catholicism. His possessions were confiscated, and his two daughters were taken from his widow and forced into Catholic convents. Voltaire, seeing this as a clear case of religious persecution, managed to overturn the conviction in 1765. Voltaire
4410-691: The Infante Luis would marry the fourth surviving daughter of Philippe, Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans ; and the Infante Charles would be engaged to the pretty Philippine Élisabeth d'Orléans who was the fifth surviving daughter of Philippe. Only one of these marriages actually ever occurred. In March 1721, the Infanta Mariana Victoria arrived in Paris amid much joy. Known as l'infante Reine (Queen-Infanta) while in France, she
4557-666: The National Assembly of France , regarding Voltaire as a forerunner of the French Revolution , had his remains brought back to Paris and enshrined in the Panthéon . An estimated million people attended the procession, which stretched throughout Paris. There was an elaborate ceremony, including music composed for the event by André Grétry . Voltaire had an enormous influence on the development of historiography through his demonstration of fresh new ways to look at
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4704-651: The Nine Years' War . The couple were the parents of two dauphins of France, Louis, Duke of Brittany , who died in 1712, and Louis, Duke of Anjou , the future Louis XV. In 1705, he became Grandmaster of the Ordre du Temple, reforming the Statutes, and bring the Order into semi-public view. In 1710, his eldest (and favourite) surviving daughter Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans married her first cousin Charles, Duke of Berry ; he
4851-468: The Palais-Royal . Philippe disapproved of the hypocrisy of Louis XIV's reign and opposed censorship , ordering the reprinting of books banned during the reign of his uncle. Reversing his uncle's policies again, Philippe formed an alliance with Great Britain, Austria, and the Netherlands, and fought a successful war against Spain that established the conditions of a European peace. During this time he opened up diplomatic channels with Russia which resulted in
4998-569: The cadet branch of the Princes de Condé that the heads of the House of Orléans preferred to be known at court by their ducal title. In December 1697, the son of the Dauphin Louis de France married Princess Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy , eldest daughter of Philippe's half sister Anne Marie. The match was negotiated as part of the Treaty of Turin, which ended Franco-Savoyard conflict during
5145-540: The viol with Antoine Forqueray the elder. Meanwhile, he was studying diplomacy and riding, as preparations for a military career. In May 1685 the Duc de Chartres , then just ten years old, made his first public appearance at Versailles; the occasion was the arrival of the Doge of Genoa , Francesco Maria Imperiale Lercari , at the French court. Chartres was put on a stage with his uncle, cousin and father. On 2 June 1686 Chartres
5292-521: The Bastille. Its origin is unclear. It is an anagram of AROVET LI , the Latinized spelling of his surname, Arouet, and the initial letters of le jeune ("the young"). According to a family tradition among the descendants of his sister, he was known as le petit volontaire ("determined little thing") as a child, and he resurrected a variant of the name in his adult life. The name also reverses
5439-527: The Bible. In these works, Voltaire's ironic style, free of exaggeration, is apparent, particularly the restraint and simplicity of the verbal treatment. Candide in particular is the best example of his style. Voltaire also has—in common with Jonathan Swift —the distinction of paving the way for science fiction's philosophical irony, particularly in his Micromégas and the vignette " Plato's Dream " (1756). In general, his criticism and miscellaneous writing show
5586-648: The Civil Wars in France". It was followed by La Henriade , an epic poem on the French King Henri IV , glorifying his attempt to end the Catholic-Protestant massacres with the Edict of Nantes , which established religious toleration. There followed a historical novel on King Charles XII of Sweden . These, along with his Letters on the English , mark the beginning of Voltaire's open criticism of intolerance and established religions. Voltaire and
5733-523: The English Nation (London, 1733). In 1734, they were published in Rouen as Lettres philosophiques , causing a huge scandal. Published without approval of the royal censor, the essays lauded British constitutional monarchy as more developed and more respectful of human rights than its French counterpart, particularly regarding religious tolerance. The book was publicly burnt and banned, and Voltaire
5880-616: The French authorities accepted. On 2 May, he was escorted from the Bastille to Calais and embarked for Britain. In England, Voltaire lived largely in Wandsworth , with acquaintances including Everard Fawkener . From December 1727 to June 1728 he lodged at Maiden Lane, Covent Garden , now commemorated by a plaque, to be nearer to his British publisher. Voltaire circulated throughout English high society, meeting Alexander Pope , John Gay , Jonathan Swift , Lady Mary Wortley Montagu , Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough , and many other members of
6027-528: The French metaphor. This phrase precedes "pen name", being attested to The Knickerbocker , in 1841. An author may use a pen name if their real name is likely to be confused with that of another author or other significant individual. For instance, in 1899 the British politician Winston Churchill wrote under the name Winston S. Churchill to distinguish his writings from those of the American novelist of
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6174-531: The Galilean pendulum, and how the mathematical principles on which these devices depend are related to music. Finally, in 1693 the prince studied composition with Marc-Antoine Charpentier . With Charpentier's help, he composed an opera, Philomèle , performed at his residence in 1694; and in 1705 the prince wrote a second opera, Penthée , to a libretto by the Marquis de La Fare . In the late 1690s Chartres studied
6321-491: The Great , then Crown Prince of Prussia and a great admirer of Voltaire, initiated a correspondence with him. That December, Voltaire moved to Holland for two months and became acquainted with the scientists Herman Boerhaave and Willem 's Gravesande . From mid-1739 to mid-1740 Voltaire lived largely in Brussels, at first with the Marquise, who was unsuccessfully attempting to pursue a 60-year-old family legal case regarding
6468-470: The Marquise also explored philosophy, particularly metaphysical questions concerning the existence of God and the soul. Voltaire and the Marquise analyzed the Bible and concluded that much of its content was dubious. Voltaire's critical views on religion led to his belief in separation of church and state and religious freedom, ideas that he had formed after his stay in England. In August 1736, Frederick
6615-456: The Marquise wrote a celebratory review in the Journal des savants . Voltaire's work was instrumental in bringing about general acceptance of Newton's optical and gravitational theories in France, in contrast to the theories of Descartes . Voltaire and the Marquise also studied history, particularly the great contributors to civilization. Voltaire's second essay in English had been "Essay upon
6762-480: The Order of Merit; at first, Frederick refused until eventually permitting Voltaire to leave in March. On a slow journey back to France, Voltaire stayed at Leipzig and Gotha for a month each, and Kassel for two weeks, arriving at Frankfurt on 31 May. The following morning, he was detained at an inn by Frederick's agents, who held him in the city for over three weeks while Voltaire and Frederick argued by letter over
6909-677: The Palais-Royal, the Parisian residence of the Orléans family until the arrest of Philippe Égalité (his grandson) in April 1793, during the French Revolution . The Palais-Royal was frequented by, among others, Marie Anne Mancini , Duchess of Bouillon, part of Philippe's father's libertine circle. A program of how best to educate a prince was drawn up exclusively for him by Guillaume Dubois , his preceptor. Dubois had entered Philippe's household in 1683 as his "under-preceptor". Philippe's education
7056-485: The Roman Catholic Church ) and of slavery , Voltaire was an advocate of freedom of speech , freedom of religion , and separation of church and state . Voltaire was a versatile and prolific writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays , poems, novels, essays, histories, and even scientific expositions . He wrote more than 20,000 letters and 2,000 books and pamphlets. Voltaire
7203-453: The Régent and King George I of Great Britain presented Voltaire with medals as a mark of their appreciation. Voltaire mainly argued for religious tolerance and freedom of thought. He campaigned to eradicate priestly and aristo-monarchical authority, and supported a constitutional monarchy that protects people's rights. Arouet adopted the name Voltaire in 1718, following his incarceration at
7350-454: The author of the Warriors novel series, is a collective pen name used by authors Kate Cary , Cherith Baldry , Tui T. Sutherland , and the editor Victoria Holmes . Collaborative authors may also have their works published under a single pen name. Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee published their mystery novels and stories under the pen name Ellery Queen , which was also used to publish
7497-489: The authorities and denying any awkward responsibility. He continued to write plays, such as Mérope (or La Mérope française ) and began his long researches into science and history. Again, a main source of inspiration for Voltaire were the years of his British exile, during which he had been strongly influenced by Newton's works. Voltaire strongly believed in Newton's theories; he performed experiments in optics at Cirey, and
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#17327661110657644-462: The basics of playing the viol and the recorder. Chartres was reared alongside Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon , later famous for his memoirs and defense of the rights of the peerage of France ; Saint-Simon often accompanied the duke, and his wife was later a lady-in-waiting to Philippe's daughter, Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans , Duchesse de Berry. Next, collaborating to link physics and music, Sauveur and Loulié demonstrated vibrating strings and
7791-435: The blood royal in attendance. Guests included the exiled James II of England and his consort, Mary of Modena . At the newlyweds' bedding ceremony later that evening, the exiled Queen of England had the honour of handing the new Duchess of Chartres her bed clothes. Madame de Montespan had not been invited to the wedding of her daughter. The young couple, mismatched from the start, never grew to like each other, and soon
7938-512: The bridegroom's parents. Upon hearing that her son had agreed to the marriage, Philippe's mother slapped his face in full view of the court and turned her back on the king as he bowed to her. Nonetheless, on 18 February 1692, the cousins were married. The lavish ceremony took place in the chapel of the Palace of Versailles . The service was conducted by the Cardinal de Bouillon —a member of
8085-461: The building's renovation, and Émilie's husband sometimes stayed at the château with his wife and her lover. The intellectual paramours collected around 21,000 books, an enormous number for the time. Together, they studied these books and performed scientific experiments at Cirey, including an attempt to determine the nature of fire. Having learned from his previous brushes with the authorities, Voltaire began his habit of avoiding open confrontation with
8232-562: The codicil appointed the duc du Maine commander of the civil and military Household, with Villeroy as his second-in-command. By this arrangement they became the sole masters of the person and residence of the King; of Paris ... and all the internal and external guard; of the entire service ... so much so that the Regent did not have even the shadow of the slightest authority and found himself at their mercy. The evening of 25 August, Louis XIV had
8379-667: The consortium, earning perhaps a million livres . He invested the money cleverly and on this basis managed to convince the Court of Finances of his responsible conduct, allowing him to take control of a trust fund inherited from his father. He was now indisputably rich. Further success followed in 1732 with his play Zaïre , which when published in 1733 carried a dedication to Fawkener praising English liberty and commerce. He published his admiring essays on British government, literature, religion, and science in Letters Concerning
8526-629: The council of regency for the young king Louis XV . Months before the death of Louis XIV, Philippe was present at the Persian embassy to Louis XIV . Mohammad Reza Beg was a high-ranking official to the Persian governor of the Yerevan province ( Armenia ). He had been chosen by the Safavid Persian emperor Sultan Husayn for the mission and travelled with a grand entourage, as suitable to
8673-534: The court left the Tuileries Palace for the Palace of Versailles where the young king wanted to reside. The decision had been taken by the Duke of Orléans who, after the fall of Law's System, was feeling the loss of his personal popularity in Paris. Philippe took the apartments of his cousin the late Dauphin on the first floor of the Palace; the King's apartments were above his. On 25 October of that year,
8820-499: The death of the prince de Condé in 1709, the rank of Premier Prince du Sang passed from the House of Condé to the House of Orléans . Philippe was thus entitled to the style of Monsieur le Prince . But the rank of petit-fils de France being higher than that of premier prince , Philippe did not change his style; nor did his son or other heirs make use of the Monsieur le Prince style, which had been so long associated with
8967-461: The definitive French version into the 21st century. Both she and Voltaire were also curious about the philosophy of Gottfried Leibniz , a contemporary and rival of Newton. While Voltaire remained a firm Newtonian, the Marquise adopted certain aspects of Leibniz's critiques. Voltaire's own book Elements of the Philosophy of Newton made the great scientist accessible to a far greater public, and
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#17327661110659114-409: The diplomat of a mighty empire. The scene of the Persian ambassador's entry into Paris, 7 February 1715, was described by François Pidou de Saint-Olon (1646–1720), a nobleman who was delegated the diplomatic position of liaison officer to the Persian delegation. On 29 July 1714, upon the insistence of his morganatic wife, the marquise de Maintenon , Louis XIV elevated his legitimised children to
9261-426: The duc du Maine to be Lieutenant Général and consequently in control. Fearing a revival of the war, Louis named the duc d'Orléans joint President of a Regency Council, but one that would be packed with his enemies, reaching its decisions by a majority vote that was bound to go against him. The real power would be in the hands of the duc du Maine, who was also appointed guardian of the young sovereign. On 25 August 1715,
9408-595: The end of the name (often marked by a graphical sign ـؔ placed above it) when referring to the poet by his full name. For example, Hafez is a pen-name for Shams al-Din , and thus the usual way to refer to him would be Shams al-Din Hafez or just Hafez . Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan (his official name and title) is referred to as Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib , or just Mirza Ghalib . Philippe II, Duke of Orl%C3%A9ans Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (Philippe Charles; 2 August 1674 – 2 December 1723),
9555-797: The end of the year. Most of Voltaire's early life revolved around Paris. From early on, Voltaire had trouble with the authorities for critiques of the government. As a result, he was twice sentenced to prison and once to temporary exile to England. One satirical verse, in which Voltaire accused the Régent of incest with his daughter, resulted in an eleven-month imprisonment in the Bastille . The Comédie-Française had agreed in January 1717 to stage his debut play, Œdipe , and it opened in mid-November 1718, seven months after his release. Its immediate critical and financial success established his reputation. Both
9702-480: The enigmatic twentieth-century novelist B. Traven has never been conclusively revealed, despite thorough research. A multiple-use name or anonymity pseudonym is a pseudonym open for anyone to use and these have been adopted by various groups, often as a protest against the cult of individual creators. In Italy, two anonymous groups of writers have gained some popularity with the collective names of Luther Blissett and Wu Ming . Wuxia novelist Louis Cha uses
9849-457: The enthusiasm the Duke of Valois had received in 1673. Philippe was born fourth in line to the throne , coming after Louis, Dauphin of France , his own father, and his older brother. When Philippe was born, his uncle Louis XIV was at the height of his power. In 1676, his older brother the Duke of Valois died at the Palais-Royal in Paris, making Philippe the new heir to the House of Orléans;
9996-428: The esteem of the world, while Rohan would sully his own. The furious Rohan arranged for his thugs to beat up Voltaire a few days later. Seeking redress, Voltaire challenged Rohan to a duel, but the powerful Rohan family arranged for Voltaire to be arrested and imprisoned without trial in the Bastille on 17 April 1726. Fearing indefinite imprisonment, Voltaire asked to be exiled to England as an alternative punishment, which
10143-532: The fact that a whole civilization is a unit of study". From an early age, Voltaire displayed a talent for writing verse, and his first published work was poetry. He wrote two book-long epic poems, including the first ever written in French, the Henriade , and later, The Maid of Orleans , besides many other smaller pieces. The Henriade was written in imitation of Virgil , using the alexandrine couplet reformed and rendered monotonous for modern readers but it
10290-524: The financiers led to disturbances, notably in the province of Brittany where a rebellion known as the Pontcallec conspiracy unfolded. He countenanced the risky operations of the banker John Law , whose bankruptcy led to the Mississippi bubble , a disastrous crisis for the public and private affairs of France. It was an early example of the bursting of an economic bubble. On 6 June 1717, under
10437-502: The first to emphasize the debt of medieval culture to Middle Eastern civilization, but otherwise was weak on the Middle Ages. Although he repeatedly warned against political bias on the part of the historian, he did not miss many opportunities to expose the intolerance and frauds of the church over the ages. Voltaire advised scholars that anything contradicting the normal course of nature was not to be believed. Although he found evil in
10584-462: The follies of humankind. However, his relationship with Frederick began to deteriorate after he was accused of theft and forgery by a Jewish financier, Abraham Hirschel, who had invested in Saxon government bonds on behalf of Voltaire at a time when Frederick was involved in sensitive diplomatic negotiations with Saxony . He encountered other difficulties: an argument with Maupertuis , the president of
10731-409: The future heirs of the family would be known as Duke of Chartres ( Duc de Chartres ) for the next century. The distraught mother of Philippe was pregnant at the time with Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans (1676–1744), future Duchess and regent of Lorraine. Élisabeth Charlotte and Philippe would always remain close. The Duke of Chartres grew up at his father's "private" court at Saint-Cloud and in Paris at
10878-411: The grandson of King Louis XIII of France , Philippe was a petit-fils de France . This entitled him to the style of Royal Highness from birth, as well as the right to be seated in an armchair in the king's presence. At his birth, he was titled Duke of Chartres and was formally addressed as Monseigneur le Duc de Chartres . As the second living son of his parents, his birth was not greeted with
11025-462: The historical record, he fervently believed reason and expanding literacy would lead to progress. Voltaire explains his view of historiography in his article on "History" in Diderot's Encyclopédie : "One demands of modern historians more details, better ascertained facts, precise dates, more attention to customs, laws, mores, commerce, finance, agriculture, population." Voltaire's histories imposed
11172-474: The influence of Law and the duc de Saint-Simon , the Regent persuaded the Regency Council to purchase from Thomas Pitt for £135,000 the world's largest known diamond, a 141 carat (28.2 g) cushion brilliant, for the crown jewels of France . The diamond was known from then on as Le Régent . There existed a party of malcontents who wished to transfer the regency from Orléans to his cousin,
11319-493: The invitation of Frederick the Great. The Prussian king (with the permission of Louis XV) made him a chamberlain in his household, appointed him to the Order of Merit , and gave him a salary of 20,000 French livres a year. He had rooms at Sanssouci and Charlottenburg Palace . Life went well for Voltaire at first, and in 1751 he completed Micromégas , a piece of science fiction involving ambassadors from another planet witnessing
11466-573: The king regularly invited pages, young cadets or lieutenants from his regiment to have coffee with him and then withdrew with the favourite for a quickie. However, the correspondence between them continued, and though they never met in person again, after the Seven Years' War they largely reconciled. Voltaire's slow progress toward Paris continued through Mainz , Mannheim , Strasbourg , and Colmar , but in January 1754 Louis XV banned him from Paris, and he turned for Geneva , near which he bought
11613-541: The later books in The Saint adventure series were not written by Leslie Charteris , the series' originator. Similarly, Nancy Drew mystery books are published as though they were written by Carolyn Keene , The Hardy Boys books are published as the work of Franklin W. Dixon , and The Bobbsey Twins series are credited to Laura Lee Hope , although numerous authors have been involved in each series. Erin Hunter ,
11760-403: The letters "a feast not only of wit and eloquence but of warm friendship, humane feeling, and incisive thought." In Voltaire's correspondence with Catherine the Great he derided democracy. He wrote, "Almost nothing great has ever been done in the world except by the genius and firmness of a single man combating the prejudices of the multitude." Like other key Enlightenment thinkers, Voltaire
11907-611: The main characters. Some, however, do this to fit a certain theme. One example, Pseudonymous Bosch , used his pen name just to expand the theme of secrecy in The Secret Series . Authors also may occasionally choose pen names to appear in more favorable positions in bookshops or libraries , to maximize visibility when placed on shelves that are conventionally arranged alphabetically moving horizontally, then upwards vertically. Some female authors have used pen names to ensure that their works were accepted by publishers and/or
12054-408: The mathematician and fantasy writer Charles Dodgson, who wrote as Lewis Carroll ) may use a pseudonym for fiction writing. Science fiction author Harry Turtledove has used the name H. N. Turtletaub for some historical novels he has written because he and his publisher felt that the presumed lower sales of those novels might hurt bookstore orders for the novels he writes under his name. Occasionally,
12201-523: The most extreme examples of this is Hokusai , who in the period 1798 to 1806 alone used no fewer than six. Manga artist Ogure Ito uses the pen name Oh! great because his real name Ogure Ito is roughly how the Japanese pronounce "oh great". A shâ'er ( Persian from Arabic, for poet) (a poet who writes she'rs in Urdu or Persian ) almost always has a "takhallus", a pen name, traditionally placed at
12348-511: The name Émile Ajar and even asked his cousin's son to impersonate Ajar; thus he received the most prestigious French literary prize twice, which is forbidden by the prize rules. He revealed the affair in a book he sent his editor just before committing suicide in 1980. A pen name may be shared by different writers to suggest continuity of authorship. Thus the Bessie Bunter series of English boarding school stories, initially written by
12495-517: The name "Publius" because it recalled the founder of the Roman Republic and using it implied a positive intention. In pure mathematics , Nicolas Bourbaki is the pseudonym of a group of mostly French-connected mathematicians attempting to expose the field in an axiomatic and self-contained, encyclopedic form. A pseudonym may be used to protect the writer of exposé books about espionage or crime. Former SAS soldier Steven Billy Mitchell used
12642-694: The next century, he would serve in the War of the Spanish Succession . He was next given a command in Italy (1706) and gained much credit for the Battle of Turin . Later he went to Spain and took part in the Battle of Almansa , a major step in the consolidation of Spain under the Bourbons (1707), where he achieved some important successes. Constant wars with many of the major powers in Europe rendered
12789-746: The nobility and royalty. Voltaire's exile in Great Britain greatly influenced his thinking. He was intrigued by Britain's constitutional monarchy in contrast to French absolutism , and by the country's greater freedom of speech and religion. He was influenced by the writers of the time, and developed an interest in English literature, especially Shakespeare , who was still little known in continental Europe. Despite pointing out Shakespeare's deviations from neoclassical standards, Voltaire saw him as an example for French drama, which, though more polished, lacked on-stage action. Later, however, as Shakespeare's influence began growing in France, Voltaire tried to set
12936-668: The opposition during his period as regent, and were the inspiration of libelous songs and poems On the death of his father in June 1701, Philippe inherited the Dukedoms of Orléans, Anjou , Montpensier and Nemours , as well as the princedom of Joinville . Philippe had died at Saint-Cloud after an argument with Louis XIV at Marly about Chartres' flaunting his pregnant mistress, Marie-Louise de Séry, before Françoise Marie. It has also been claimed that Philippe became so infuriated with Louis for not paying his daughter's dowry that he suffered
13083-705: The ownership of two estates in Limburg . In July 1740, he traveled to the Hague on behalf of Frederick in an attempt to dissuade a dubious publisher, van Duren, from printing without permission Frederick's Anti-Machiavel . In September Voltaire and Frederick (now King) met for the first time in Moyland Castle near Cleves and in November Voltaire was Frederick's guest in Berlin for two weeks, followed by
13230-423: The passivity inspired by Leibniz's philosophy of optimism through the character Pangloss's frequent refrain that, because God created it, this is of necessity the " best of all possible worlds ". L'Homme aux quarante ecus ( The Man of Forty Pieces of Silver ) addresses social and political ways of the time; Zadig and others, the received forms of moral and metaphysical orthodoxy; and some were written to deride
13377-508: The past. Guillaume de Syon argues: Voltaire recast historiography in both factual and analytical terms. Not only did he reject traditional biographies and accounts that claim the work of supernatural forces, but he went so far as to suggest that earlier historiography was rife with falsified evidence and required new investigations at the source. Such an outlook was not unique in that the scientific spirit that 18th-century intellectuals perceived themselves as invested with. A rationalistic approach
13524-489: The pen name Gum Yoong (金庸) by taking apart the components of the Chinese character in his given name (鏞) from his birth name Cha Leung-yung (查良鏞). In Indian languages, writers may put a pen name at the end of their names, like Ramdhari Singh Dinkar . Some writers, like Firaq Gorakhpuri , wrote only under a pen name. In early Indian literature, authors considered the use of names egotistical. Because names were avoided, it
13671-547: The poem was an instant success, Voltaire's new play, Mariamne , was a failure when it first opened in March 1724. Heavily reworked, it opened at the Comédie-Française in April 1725 to a much-improved reception. It was among the entertainments provided at the wedding of Louis XV and Marie Leszczyńska in September 1725. In early 1726, the aristocratic chevalier de Rohan-Chabot taunted Voltaire about his change of name, and Voltaire retorted that his name would win
13818-637: The priest urged him to renounce Satan, he replied, "This is no time to make new enemies." Because of his well-known criticism of the Church, which he had refused to retract before his death, Voltaire was denied a Christian burial in Paris, but friends and relations managed to bury his body secretly at the Abbey of Scellières [ fr ] in Champagne , where Marie Louise's brother was abbé . His heart and brain were embalmed separately. On 11 July 1791,
13965-435: The prolific Charles Hamilton under the name Hilda Richards, was taken on by other authors who continued to use the same pen name. In some forms of fiction, the pen name adopted is the name of the lead character, to suggest to the reader that the book is an autobiography of a real person. Daniel Handler used the pseudonym Lemony Snicket to present his A Series of Unfortunate Events books as memoirs by an acquaintance of
14112-442: The pseudonym Andy McNab for his book about a failed SAS mission titled Bravo Two Zero . The name Ibn Warraq ("son of a papermaker") has been used by dissident Muslim authors. Author Brian O'Nolan used the pen names Flann O'Brien and Myles na gCopaleen for his novels and journalistic writing from the 1940s to the 1960s because Irish civil servants were not permitted at that time to publish political writings. The identity of
14259-419: The pseudonym George Sand . Charlotte , Emily , and Anne Brontë published under the names Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, respectively. French-Savoyard writer and poet Amélie Gex chose to publish as Dian de Jeânna ("John, son of Jane") during the first half of her career. Karen Blixen 's very successful Out of Africa (1937) was originally published under the pen name Isak Dinesen. Victoria Benedictsson ,
14406-430: The pseudonym S. G. Tallentyre in her 1906 biographical book The Friends of Voltaire . Hall intended to summarize in her own words Voltaire's attitude towards Claude Adrien Helvétius and his controversial book De l'esprit , but her first-person expression was mistaken for an actual quotation from Voltaire. Her interpretation does capture the spirit of Voltaire's attitude towards Helvétius; it had been said Hall's summary
14553-460: The public. Such is the case of Peru's Clarinda , whose work was published in the early 17th century. More often, women have adopted masculine pen names. This was common in the 19th century when women were beginning to make inroads into literature but, it was felt they would not be taken as seriously by readers as male authors. For example, Mary Ann Evans wrote under the pen name George Eliot ; and Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin, and Baronne Dudevant, used
14700-533: The quarrels of competing sects. Amongst other targets, Voltaire criticized France's colonial policy in North America, dismissing the vast territory of New France as " a few acres of snow " (" quelques arpents de neige "). Voltaire also engaged in an enormous amount of private correspondence during his life, totalling over 20,000 letters. Theodore Besterman 's collected edition of these letters, completed only in 1964, fills 102 volumes. One historian called
14847-490: The rank of Princes of the Blood , which "entitled them to inherit the crown if the legitimate lines became extinct". Thus, Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Duke of Maine and Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, Count of Toulouse were officially inserted into the line of hereditary succession following all of the legitimate, acknowledged princes du sang . Mme de Maintenon would have preferred Philip V [King of Spain] to be Regent and
14994-466: The reader: " écrasez l'infâme ", or "crush the infamous". The phrase refers to contemporaneous abuses of power by royal and religious authorities, and the superstition and intolerance fomented by the clergy. He had seen and felt these effects in his own exiles, the burnings of his books and those of many others, and in the atrocious persecution of Jean Calas and François-Jean de la Barre . He stated in one of his most famous quotes that "Superstition sets
15141-501: The realm, but, since one cannot anticipate everything, if there is something to change or to reform, you will do whatever you see fit... Louis XIV died at Versailles on 1 September 1715, and was succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson, Louis XV. On 2 September, the Duke of Orléans went to meet the parlementaires in the Grand-Chambre du Parlement in Paris in order to have Louis XIV's will annulled and his previous right to
15288-616: The regency restored. After a break that followed a much-heated session, the Parlement abrogated the recent codicil to Louis XIV's will and confirmed the Duke of Orléans as regent of France. On 30 December 1715, the regent decided to bring the young Louis XV from the Château de Vincennes to the Tuileries Palace in Paris where he lived until his return to Versailles in June 1722. The regent governed from his Parisian residence,
15435-617: The remaining 20 years of his life, frequently entertaining distinguished guests, such as James Boswell (who recorded their conversations in his journal and memoranda), Adam Smith , Giacomo Casanova , and Edward Gibbon . In 1764, he published one of his best-known philosophical works, the Dictionnaire philosophique , a series of articles mainly on Christian history and dogmas, a few of which were originally written in Berlin. From 1762, as an unmatched intellectual celebrity, he began to champion unjustly persecuted individuals, most famously
15582-648: The return of a satirical book of poetry Frederick had lent to Voltaire. Marie Louise joined him on 9 June. She and her uncle only left Frankfurt in July after she had defended herself from the unwanted advances of one of Frederick's agents, and Voltaire's luggage had been ransacked and valuable items taken. Voltaire's attempts to vilify Frederick for his agents' actions at Frankfurt were largely unsuccessful, including his Mémoires pour Servir à la Vie de M. de Voltaire, published posthumously, in which he also explicitly made mention of Frederick's homosexuality, when he described how
15729-419: The same father and creatures of the same God?" Pen name A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise the author's gender, to distance the author from their other works, to protect the author from retribution for their writings, to merge multiple persons into a single identifiable author, or for any of several reasons related to the marketing or aesthetic presentation of
15876-458: The same name . An author may use a pen name implying a rank or title which they have never actually held. William Earl Johns wrote under the name "Capt. W. E. Johns" although the highest army rank he held was acting lieutenant and his highest air force rank was flying officer . Authors who regularly write in more than one genre may use different pen names for each, either in an attempt to conceal their true identity or even after their identity
16023-412: The same pseudonym; examples include T. H. Lain in fiction. The Australian fiction collaborators who write under the pen name Alice Campion are a group of women who have so far written The Painted Sky (2015) and The Shifting Light (2017). In the 1780s, The Federalist Papers were written under the pseudonym "Publius" by Alexander Hamilton , James Madison , and John Jay . The three men chose
16170-453: The siege of Mons in 1691, the year before his marriage. He fought with great distinction at the Battle of Steenkerque on 3 August 1692. In the same year he also served at the Siege of Namur . The following year he served at the Battle of Landen ; he fought alongside the prince de Conti , who was wounded. During a hiatus between military assignments, Chartres studied natural science . In
16317-510: The spelling of his last name to Zane Grey because he believed that his real name did not suit the Western genre. Romance novelist Angela Knight writes under that name instead of her actual name (Julie Woodcock) because of the double entendre of her surname in the context of that genre. Romain Gary , who was a well-known French writer, decided in 1973 to write novels in a different style under
16464-524: The syllables of Airvault , his family's home town in the Poitou region. Richard Holmes supports the anagrammatic derivation of the name, but adds that a writer such as Voltaire would have intended it to also convey connotations of speed and daring. These come from associations with words such as voltige (acrobatics on a trapeze or horse), volte-face (a spinning about to face one's enemies), and volatile (originally, any winged creature). "Arouet"
16611-399: The throne, although legitimists considered that Philip V of Spain , né Duke of Anjou and fils de France , held that place, on the contention that his renunciation in 1700 was constitutionally invalid. The deaths within three years of the Dauphin, two of his three sons, his daughter-in-law and the little Duke of Brittany led to widespread rumours that Orléans had poisoned them all to gain
16758-492: The throne. In fact, the Dauphin died of smallpox , the Duc de Berry in a riding accident and the others of measles , but they did great damage to Orléans' reputation, and even Louis XIV seems to have at least half-believed them. Only in Orléans' last years did the obvious affection between himself and Louis XV , and the young King's robust health, cause the rumours to die away. In his will, Louis XIV appointed Orléans president of
16905-493: The two only met a month before Voltaire's death, and their interactions with each other were brief. In February 1778, Voltaire returned to Paris for the first time in over 25 years, partly to see the opening of his latest tragedy, Irene . The five-day journey was too much for the 83-year-old, and he believed he was about to die on 28 February, writing "I die adoring God, loving my friends, not hating my enemies, and detesting superstition." However, he recovered, and in March he saw
17052-499: The values of the Enlightenment on the past, but at the same time he helped free historiography from antiquarianism, Eurocentrism, religious intolerance and a concentration on great men, diplomacy, and warfare. Yale professor Peter Gay says Voltaire wrote "very good history", citing his "scrupulous concern for truths", "careful sifting of evidence", "intelligent selection of what is important", "keen sense of drama", and "grasp of
17199-399: The whole world in flames; philosophy quenches them" ( La superstition met le monde entier en flammes; la philosophie les éteint ). The most oft-cited Voltaire quotation is apocryphal. He is incorrectly credited with writing, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." These were not his words, but rather those of Evelyn Beatrice Hall , written under
17346-491: The work of several ghostwriters they commissioned. The writers of Atlanta Nights , a deliberately bad book intended to embarrass the publishing firm PublishAmerica , used the pen name Travis Tea. Additionally, the credited author of The Expanse , James S. A. Corey , is an amalgam of the middle names of collaborating writers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck respectively, while S. A. is the initials of Abraham's daughter. Sometimes multiple authors will write related books under
17493-415: The work. The author's real identity may be known only to the publisher or may become common knowledge. In some cases, such as those of Elena Ferrante and Torsten Krol , a pen name may preserve an author's long-term anonymity . Pen name is formed by joining pen with name . Its earliest use in English is in the 1860s, in the writings of Bayard Taylor . The French-language phrase nom de plume
17640-417: The young Philippe gave his wife the nickname of Madame Lucifer . In spite of this, they had eight children (see below). There were contemporary rumors of an incestuous relationship between the duke and his daughter, Marie Louise Elisabeth of Berry. These rumors were never confirmed, although the duke reacted to them by demonstrating affectionate behavior towards her at court. The rumors were also used by
17787-620: The young king's uncle, King Philip V of Spain . A conspiracy was formed, under the inspiration of Cardinal Alberoni , the first minister of Spain. It was directed in France by the Prince of Cellamare, the Spanish ambassador, with the complicity of the Duchess of Orléans' older brother, the duc du Maine, and Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon , the latter's wife. In 1718, the Cellamare conspiracy
17934-813: The youngest legitimised daughter ( légitimée de France ) of King Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan . Named regent of France during the minority of Louis XV , his great-nephew and first cousin twice removed, the period of his de facto rule was known as the Regency ( French : la Régence ) (1715–1723). The Regency came to an end in February 1723, and the Duke of Orléans died at Versailles in December. In March 1661, Monsieur Philippe I, Duke of Orleans , married his first cousin Princess Henrietta of England , known as Madame at court; she
18081-673: Was a deist . He challenged orthodoxy by asking: "What is faith? Is it to believe that which is evident? No. It is perfectly evident to my mind that there exists a necessary, eternal, supreme, and intelligent being. This is no matter of faith, but of reason." In a 1763 essay, Voltaire supported the toleration of other religions and ethnicities: "It does not require great art, or magnificently trained eloquence, to prove that Christians should tolerate each other. I, however, am going further: I say that we should regard all men as our brothers. What? The Turk my brother? The Chinaman my brother? The Jew? The Siam? Yes, without doubt; are we not all children of
18228-630: Was a French prince, soldier, and statesman who served as Regent of the Kingdom of France from 1715 to 1723. He is referred to in French as le Régent . He was the son of Monsieur Philippe I, Duke of Orleans , and Madame Elisabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Orléans . Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth by the title of Duke of Chartres. In 1692, Philippe married his first cousin Françoise Marie de Bourbon ,
18375-525: Was a flop and only fragments of the text survive. He instead turned to an epic poem about Henry IV of France that he had begun in early 1717. Denied a licence to publish, in August 1722 Voltaire headed north to find a publisher outside France. On the journey, he was accompanied by his mistress, Marie-Marguerite de Rupelmonde, a young widow. At Brussels, Voltaire and Rousseau met up for a few days, before Voltaire and his mistress continued northwards. A publisher
18522-468: Was a huge success in the 18th and early 19th century, with sixty-five editions and translations into several languages. The epic poem transformed French King Henry IV into a national hero for his attempts at instituting tolerance with his Edict of Nantes. La Pucelle , on the other hand, is a burlesque on the legend of Joan of Arc . Many of Voltaire's prose works and romances, usually composed as pamphlets, were written as polemics . Candide attacks
18669-399: Was a son of the Dauphin and thus outranked Philippe and his wife; this meant that Louise Élisabeth took precedence over her parents. The Berry couple would have no children that lived more than a year. In 1711, the Dauphin died at Meudon at the age of forty-nine and the title passed to his son, who died in 1712. Until his death in 1723, Orléans was generally considered to be first in line to
18816-399: Was again forced to flee Paris. In 1733, Voltaire met Émilie du Châtelet (Marquise du Châtelet), a mathematician and married mother of three, who was 12 years his junior and with whom he was to have an affair for 16 years. To avoid arrest after the publication of Lettres , Voltaire took refuge at her husband's château at Cirey on the borders of Champagne and Lorraine . Voltaire paid for
18963-629: Was baptized on 22 November 1694, with François de Castagnère, abbé de Châteauneuf [ fr ] , and Marie Daumard, the wife of his mother's cousin, standing as godparents. He was educated by the Jesuits at the Collège Louis-le-Grand (1704–1711), where he was taught Latin , theology, and rhetoric; later in life he became fluent in Italian, Spanish, and English. By the time he left school, Voltaire had decided he wanted to be
19110-515: Was carried out by the respected instructor Nicholas-François Parisot de Saint-Laurent until 1687. Each course of study taught the Duc de Chartres the "principles" or "elements" of a subject. Some of the best historians, genealogists, scientists and artists in the kingdom participated in this educational experiment, which started around 1689. For example, Philippe learned physics and mathematics from Joseph Sauveur ; and from Étienne Loulié he learned musical notation, elementary musical theory, plus
19257-407: Was clearly sexual, as evidenced by his letters to her (only discovered in 1957). Much later, they lived together, perhaps platonically, and remained together until Voltaire's death. Meanwhile, the Marquise also took a lover, the Marquis de Saint-Lambert . After the death of the Marquise in childbirth in September 1749, Voltaire briefly returned to Paris and in mid-1750 moved to Potsdam , Prussia, at
19404-466: Was discovered and its participants exiled. Two years later its aims were revived in the Pontcallec conspiracy, four leaders of which were executed. Guillaume Dubois , formerly tutor to the Duke of Orléans, and now his chief minister , caused war to be declared against Spain, with the support of Austria, England and the Netherlands ( Quadruple Alliance ). After some successes of the French marshal ,
19551-570: Was eventually secured in The Hague. In the Netherlands, Voltaire was struck and impressed by the openness and tolerance of Dutch society. On his return to France, he secured a second publisher in Rouen , who agreed to publish La Henriade clandestinely. After Voltaire's recovery from a month-long smallpox infection in November 1723, the first copies were smuggled into Paris and distributed. While
19698-470: Was initiated into Freemasonry a little over a month before his death. On 4 April 1778, he attended la Loge des Neuf Sœurs in Paris, and became an Entered Apprentice Freemason. According to some sources, "Benjamin Franklin ;... urged Voltaire to become a freemason; and Voltaire agreed, perhaps only to please Franklin." However, Franklin was merely a visitor at the time Voltaire was initiated,
19845-436: Was inspired by a quotation found in a 1770 Voltaire letter to an Abbot le Riche, in which he was reported to have said, "I detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write." Nevertheless, scholars believe there must have again been misinterpretation, as the letter does not seem to contain any such quote. Voltaire's first major philosophical work in his battle against " l'infâme "
19992-548: Was invested with the Order of the Holy Spirit at Versailles; on the same day his future brother-in-law, Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Duc du Maine , also joined the order as did his cousins Louis III, prince de Condé and François Louis, Prince de Conti . His father gained military distinction in the Battle of Cassel and during the decisive French victory against William of Orange , Chartres would similarly demonstrate military prowess. He had his first experience of battle at
20139-591: Was key to rewriting history. Voltaire's best-known histories are History of Charles XII (1731), The Age of Louis XIV (1751), and his Essay on the Customs and the Spirit of the Nations (1756). He broke from the tradition of narrating diplomatic and military events, and emphasized customs, social history and achievements in the arts and sciences. The Essay on Customs traced the progress of world civilization in
20286-507: Was not a noble name fit for his growing reputation, especially given that name's resonance with à rouer ("to be beaten up") and roué (a débauché ). In a letter to Jean-Baptiste Rousseau in March 1719, Voltaire concludes by asking that, if Rousseau wishes to send him a return letter, he do so by addressing it to Monsieur de Voltaire. A postscript explains: " J'ai été si malheureux sous le nom d'Arouet que j'en ai pris un autre surtout pour n'être plus confondu avec le poète Roi ", ("I
20433-499: Was of 4 million livres . The last of this triple alliance was Philippine Élisabeth who never married Charles; the marriage, though never officially carried out was annulled; the French sent back Mariana Victoria and in retaliation, Louise Élisabeth and Philippine Élisabeth were sent back to France. Franco-Spanish relations only recovered in 1743 when Louis XV's son Louis de France married Mariana Victoria's sister Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain . On 15 June 1722, Louis XV and
20580-450: Was on the lowest rank of the French nobility . Some speculation surrounds Voltaire's date of birth, because he claimed he was born on 20 February 1694 as the illegitimate son of a nobleman, Guérin de Rochebrune or Roquebrune. Two of his older brothers—Armand-François and Robert—died in infancy, and his surviving brother Armand and sister Marguerite-Catherine were nine and seven years older, respectively. Nicknamed "Zozo" by his family, Voltaire
20727-474: Was one of the first authors to become renowned and commercially successful internationally. He was an outspoken advocate of civil liberties and was at constant risk from the strict censorship laws of the Catholic French monarchy. His polemics witheringly satirized intolerance and religious dogma , as well as the French institutions of his day. His best-known work and magnum opus , Candide ,
20874-522: Was one of the promulgators of the famous story of Newton's inspiration from the falling apple, which he had learned from Newton's niece in London and first mentioned in his Letters . In the fall of 1735, Voltaire was visited by Francesco Algarotti , who was preparing a book about Newton in Italian. Partly inspired by the visit, the Marquise translated Newton's Latin Principia into French, which remained
21021-474: Was placed in the care of the old Dowager Princess of Conti , Philippe's sister in law, and lived in the Tuileries Palace . In November 1721, at the age of twelve, Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans was married by proxy in Paris, Louise Élisabeth and her younger sister left for Madrid . Despite a cold reception from the Spanish royal family, especially by Elisabeth of Parma , the stepmother of her husband, she married Louis of Spain on 20 January 1722 at Lerma. Her dowry
21168-413: Was popular at court upon her arrival in 1671. In 1673 the Duke and Duchess had a son named Alexandre Louis, another short-lived Duke of Valois. The next year, the Duchess gave birth to Philippe Charles, the future Regent. A daughter, Élisabeth Charlotte , later Duchess of Lorraine , was born in 1676. Philippe Charles d'Orléans was born at the Château de Saint-Cloud , some ten kilometers west of Paris. As
21315-512: Was so unhappy under the name of Arouet that I have taken another, primarily so as to cease to be confused with the poet Roi.") This probably refers to Adenes le Roi , and the 'oi' diphthong was then pronounced like modern 'ouai', so the similarity to 'Arouet' is clear, and thus, it could well have been part of his rationale. Voltaire is known also to have used at least 178 separate pen names during his lifetime. Voltaire's next play, Artémire , set in ancient Macedonia, opened on 15 February 1720. It
21462-822: Was the Traité sur la tolérance ( Treatise on Tolerance ), exposing the Calas affair, along with the tolerance exercised by other faiths and in other eras (for example, by the Jews, the Romans, the Greeks and the Chinese). Then, in his Dictionnaire philosophique , containing such articles as "Abraham", "Genesis", "Church Council", he wrote about what he perceived as the human origins of dogmas and beliefs, as well as inhuman behavior of religious and political institutions in shedding blood over
21609-498: Was the sister of King Charles II of England . The marriage was stormy; Henrietta was a famed beauty, sometimes depicted as flirtatious by those at the court of Versailles . Nonetheless, the marriage produced three children: Marie Louise , later Queen of Spain ; Philippe Charles, Duke of Valois , who died in infancy; and Anne Marie , later Queen of Sardinia . Madame Henriette died at Saint-Cloud in 1670; rumors abounded that she had been poisoned by her husband or his long-term lover,
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