Voltaire and Catherine the Great: Selected Correspondence

186, [10] pp. 8vo. Four plates precede text. "The first comprehensive selection in English from the Voltaire-Catherine correspondence 1763-78, long considered essential reading for students both of Russian history and the French Enlightenment. Includes: Translated with commentary, notes, and an introduction by A. Lentin, with a foreword by Elizabeth Hill, Emeritus Professor of Slavic Studies, University of Cambridge. "François-Marie Arouet (21 November 1694 - 30 May 1778), better known by the pen name Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, essayist, deist and philosopher known for his wit, philosophical sport, and defense of civil liberties, including freedom of religion and the right to a fair trial. He was an outspoken supporter of social reform despite strict censorship laws in France and harsh penalties for those who broke them. A satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize Christian Church dogma and the French institutions of his day." "Catherine II of Russia, called the Great (Russian: Yekaterina II Velikaya; 2 May [O.S. 21 April] 1729 - 17 November [O.S. 6 November] 1796) -- sometimes referred to as an epitome of the 'enlightened despot' -- reigned as Empress of Russia from June 28, 1762 until her death. She thus ruled for 34 years -- the longest reign in Russia after the establishment of the Russian Empire in 1721. She lived for 67 years, longer than any Russian emperor; and longer than any Russian monarch since Grand Prince Vladimir Monomakh of Kievan Rus, who died in 1125 aged 72."