Oeuvres complètes de Voltaire: Correspondance générale

The Correspondance générale represents a monumental effort to compile the vast epistolary output of François-Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire. Spanning decades of Enlightenment thought, these volumes were curated to provide scholars and readers with a comprehensive view of the philosopher's interactions with his contemporaries, ranging from fellow thinkers like Rousseau and Diderot to European monarchs such as Frederick the Great.

The editorial history of these collections is defined by successive generations of scholars who sought to organize Voltaire's thousands of letters chronologically and thematically. By gathering this correspondence, editors aimed to capture the evolution of Voltaire's wit, his advocacy for civil liberties, and his biting critiques of institutional dogma, ultimately establishing these volumes as a primary resource for understanding the intellectual climate of the eighteenth century.