Voltaire had a strained relationship with his father, who discouraged his literary aspirations and tried to force him into a legal career. Possibly to show his rejection of his father’s values, he ...

“Italy had its renaissance, Germany its reformation, France had Voltaire”, the historian Will Durant once commented. Born François-Marie Arouet, Voltaire (1694-1778) was known in his lifetime as the ...

While always serious, Voltaire's writings were poisonous with wit, sarcasm and irony. And the irony of his life was that while he dropped out of law school complaining about "the vast amount of ...

Atelier de Nicolas de Largilliere, portrait of Voltaire at 24. Wikimedia Commons “Italy had its renaissance, Germany its reformation, France had Voltaire”, the historian Will Durant once commented.

Neither the Mona Lisa nor the Eiffel Tower, nor any of the quais of the Seine, but Le Petit Cambodge, le Café Bonne Bière, La Belle Équipe: Unassuming restaurants ...

Like most bookshops around Paris, Emile, which caters to young readers, sold all its copies of Voltaire's Treatise on Tolerance on Jan. 8, the day after two gunmen stormed into satirical magazine ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. In a close-up shot at the start of the mini-series "Voltaire in Love," a baby François Marie Arouet (also known as French ...

Voltaire is considered one of the greatest poets of the Enlightenment. But very little was known of his inspirations. Renee Montagne talks to author David Bodanis about his new book Passionate Minds, ...

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. A unique set of correspondence between the Russian Empress Catherine the Great ...