The History of Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia

Voltaire's first great history follows the warrior king of Sweden from his early victories to his defeat by Peter the Great at Poltava. It reads like an adventure novel and made Voltaire's name as a historian.

Voltaire

The first half of Voltaire's portrait of France under the Sun King, from the wars of Europe to the War of the Spanish Succession. A history of a whole civilization rather than a list of battles.

Voltaire

The second half of The Age of Louis XIV turns to life at court, government, trade, the arts and sciences, and the religious quarrels of the reign. The part where Voltaire invents the history of culture.

Voltaire