Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau in England

What it is

This book, written by John Churton Collins and published in 1908, tells the story of three French writers' visits to England — Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Rousseau — and how they were received there. Montesquieu's visit is described as taking place over about two years.

Why it matters

The book shows how Montesquieu was part of a wider circle of French Enlightenment thinkers whose ideas travelled across borders. It reveals how English readers and writers responded to continental philosophy in the eighteenth century, and how later historians like Collins tried to piece together these cultural exchanges.

Look closer

• Why might an English professor in 1908 be interested in writing about three French visitors from over a century earlier?
• What might be left out of a book that groups three very different thinkers together?