The Complete Works of Michel de Montaigne: Introduction by Stuart Hampshire

Michel de Montaigne

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Apr 29, 2003 - Literary Collections - 1336 pages

A stunning collector’s hardcover edition of Michel de Montaigne, the father of the essay. Translated by Donald M. Frame with an Introduction by Stuart Hampshire.

Humanist, skeptic, acute observer of himself and others, Michel de Montaigne (1533—92) was the first to use the term “essay” to refer to the form he pioneered, and he has remained one of its most famous practitioners. He reflected on the great themes of existence in his wise and engaging writings, his subjects ranging from proper conversation and good reading, to the raising of children and the endurance of pain, from solitude, destiny, time, and custom, to truth, consciousness, and death. Having stood the test of time, his essays continue to influence writers nearly five hundred years later.

Also included in this complete edition of his works are Montaigne’s letters and his travel journal, fascinating records of the experiences and contemplations that would shape and infuse his essays. Montaigne speaks to us always in a personal voice in which his virtues of tolerance, moderation, and understanding are dazzlingly manifest.

Donald M. Frame’s masterful translation is widely acknowledged to be the classic English version.
 
Everyman's Library pursues the highest production standards, printing on acid-free cream-colored paper, with full-cloth cases with two-color foil stamping, decorative endpapers, silk ribbon markers, European-style half-round spines, and a full-color illustrated jacket. Everyman’s Library Classics include an introduction, a select bibliography, and a chronology of the author's life and times.

About the author

Michel de Montaigne was born in Chateau de Montaigne, near Bordeaux, France, on February 28, 1533. He received his early education at the College de Guyenne in Bordeaux and studied law at Bordeaux and Toulouse, becoming a counselor of the Court des Aides of Perigueaux, the Bordeaux Parliament and, in 1561, at the court of Charles IX. In 1565, Montaigne married Francoise de la Chassaigne. They raised one daughter, with four other children dying in infancy. He lived the life as a country gentleman and traveled extensively through Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. Montaigne was a moderate Roman Catholic and an advocate of toleration, acting as an intermediary between Henry of Navarre and the court party. As a result, in 1588, he was arrested by members of the Protestant League and thrown into the Bastille for several hours. His work Essais established the essay as a new literary form and influenced both French and English writers; it was quoted by William Shakespeare and imitated by Francis Bacon. Michel de Montaigne died on September 13, 1592 at his chateau in France.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Complete Works of Michel de Montaigne: Introduction by Stuart Hampshire; Borzoi book; Everyman's Library Classics Series; Issue 259 of Everyman's library
• Author: Michel de Montaigne
• Translated by: Donald M. Frame
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2003
• Original from: the University of Michigan
• Digitized: Mar 26, 2008
• ISBN: 1400040213, 9781400040216
• Length: 1336 pages
• Subjects: Literary Collections / Diaries & Journals; Literary Collections / Essays; Literary Collections / European / General; Philosophy / Movements / Humanism