
As a young man, the Paris-born Voltaire chose not to follow his father into law, opting for a writing career instead. Within a few years, he had attracted controversy and condemnation, both for his criticism of the church and the Ancien Régime, and his barbed commentary about powerful individuals.
Voltaire returned to France in 1729 and began writing on a broad range of topics, including history, philosophy, poetry and the arts. He used fictional works to criticise and condemn the existing order, using his characters to express what he was thinking.
Voltaire’s favourite target was religion. He accepted the existence of God but railed against the divine right of kings, religious dogma, superstition, the profligacy and corruption of the higher clergy, and the Church’s failures to minister to the poor.
Voltaire’s most famous work is the 1759 novel Candide, which sarcastically took aim at the upper classes and their willful ignorance of the sufferings of those below them.
Citation information
Title: “Voltaire”
Authors: John Rae, Steve Thompson
Publisher: Alpha History
URL: https://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/voltaire/
Date published: May 7, 2017
Date accessed: March 04, 2023
Copyright: The content on this page may not be republished without our express permission. For more information on usage, please refer to our Terms of Use.