Montaigne and the Art of Free-Thinking

Richard Scholar is Fellow and Tutor in French at Oriel College, University of Oxford, and the author of The Je-Ne-Sais-Quoi in Early Modern Europe: Encounters with a Certain Something (2005). He was awarded a Philip Leverhulme Prize in 2007 for his ‘profoundly original’ work on early modern European literature and thought.

• Contents: Opening Moves – An Education in Free-Thinking – An Introduction to Essaying – Two Cheers for Free-Thinking – Two Freedoms – Of Free-Thinking and Friendship – Of Keeping Your Freedom Alive.

«Luminously clear, persuasive and thought-provoking.» (Sarah Bakewell, author of ‘How to Live: A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer’)«In this accessible and attractively written literary companion to the thought of the ‘Essais’, Richard Scholar tells first-time readers all they need to know, while at the same time offering a bold new image of Montaigne as a writer committed to the adventure of free-thinking.» (Terence Cave, author of ‘How to Read Montaigne’)«Learned, rich in insights and always accessible, Scholar’s book will appeal to seasoned readers of Montaigne as well as to those approaching the ‘Essais’ for the first time.» (Mary B. McKinley, author of ‘Words in a Corner: Studies in Montaigne’s Latin Quotations’)