Montaigne: A Life - Softcover

"Desan provides not just a new biography but a new Montaigne." -Choice "A detailed yet sweeping journey through the world of one of the Renaissance's most important literary figures." -Publishers Weekly "Offers fresh analyses not just of well-known omissions but also of distortions. . . . [I]ndispensable." -Neil Kenny, History Today "Philippe Desan's biography gives back to us the political Montaigne." -Robert Minto, Los Angeles Review of Books "[A] masterly literary biography." -Patrick J. Murray, Times Literary Supplement "Montaigne claimed to have portrayed himself 'naked' to posterity. Mr. Desan removes the last of his garments." -Jeffrey Collins, Wall Street Journal "One of CHOICE's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2017"

One of the most important writers and thinkers of the Renaissance, Michel de Montaigne (1533-92) helped invent a literary genre that seemed more modern than anything that had come before. But did he do it, as he suggests in his Essays, by retreating to his chateau and stoically detaching himself from his violent times? Philippe Desan overturns this long standing myth by showing that Montaigne was constantly connected to and concerned with realizing his political ambitions-and that the literary and philosophical character of the Essays largely depends on them. Desan shows how Montaigne conceived of each edition of the Essays as an indispensable prerequisite to the next stage of his public career. It was only after his political failure that Montaigne took refuge in literature, and even then it was his political experience that enabled him to find the right tone for his genre. The most comprehensive and authoritative biography of Montaigne yet written, this sweeping narrative offers a fascinating new picture of his life and work.