Boswell's enlightenment / Robert Zaretsky.

  • Zaretsky, Robert, 1955-
Date:
2015
  • Books

About this work

Description

"In 1763, the young James Boswell left Great Britain for a 'Grand Tour' of the Continent. The tour was a tradition among British and Scottish youths; by visiting the great historical sites, especially those of Roman and Greek antiquity, they would complete the studies they had begun at universities back home. Boswell's tour, however, was different: he was less concerned with the ruins of the past than the thinkers of the present. In particular, he was eager to question the leading figures of the Enlightenment on matters of faith and God--of particular importance to Boswell, who had been raised in the dour and dire atmosphere of the Church of Scotland. In his remarkable conversations with figures like Voltaire, Rousseau, and Hume, we see a man struggling with the claims of reason and needs of faith--a struggle that remains very much our own 250 years later"-- Provided by publisher.

Publication/Creation

Cambridge, Massachusetts : The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2015.

Physical description

278 pages ; 22 cm

Bibliographic information

Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-269) and index.

Contents

Prologue : the view from Arthur's Seat -- In the Kirk's shadow -- At home with Home -- A journal is born -- Enter Johnson -- Derelict in Utrecht -- Belle de Zuylen -- Waiting for Frederick -- The distance between Môtiers and Ferney -- On libertines and liberty -- After Corsica, before futurity.

Languages

Where to find it

  • LocationStatus
    History of Medicine
    BZP (Boswell)
    Open shelves

Permanent link

Identifiers

ISBN

  • 9780674368231
  • 0674368231