Rameau's Nephew and Other Works

Literature & Fiction

DIDEROT, DENIS

Literary

PRENTICE/HALL

Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot—of the triumvirate that dominated French letters in the eighteenth century, Diderot was unmatched in the sheer breadth and depth of his interests and ideas. Rameau’s Nephew and D’Alembert’s Dream are dazzling exposés of Diderot’s radical scientific and philosophical thinking. Written in dialogue form, they were too outspoken to be published during the lifetime of one whose ideas earned him enemies as fast as they stimulated new criteria for social progress. Of the two pieces, Rameau’s Nephew was composed over many years, and in form and content it is an explosive cocktail unlike anything in French literature before or since. D’Alembert’s Dream, on the other hand, was committed to paper in a matter of days; a clarion call for the cause of materialist determinism, it too shows Diderot as one of the most advanced thinkers of his age and is a powerful testament to the bizarre and unpredictable genius of its creator.

Rameau's Nephew and D'Alembert's Dream (Penguin Classics)

Dramas & Plays

Penguin Classics

In 1758 Diderot's friend the Marquis de Croismare became interested in the cause célèbre of a nun who was appealing to be allowed to leave a Paris convent. Less than a year later, in an affectionate attempt to trick his friend, Diderot created this masterpiece - a fictitious set of desperate and pleading letters to the Marquis from a teenage girl forced into the nunnery because she is illegitimate. In these letters, the impressionable and innocent Suzanne Simonin describes the cruelty and abuse she has suffered in an institution poisoned by vicious gossip, intrigues, persecutions and deviance. Considered too subversive during Diderot's lifetime, The Nun first appeared in print in 1796 following the Revolution. Part gripping novel, part licentious portrayal of sexual fervour and part damning attack on oppressive religious institutions, it remains one of the most utterly original works of the many eighteenth-century. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

The Nun (Penguin Classics)

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

Denis Diderot (1713-1784) was among the greatest writers of the Enlightenment, and in Jacques the Fatalist he brilliantly challenged the artificialities of conventional French fiction of his age. Riding through France with his master, the servant Jacques appears to act as though he is truly free in a world of dizzying variety and unpredictability. Characters emerge and disappear as the pair travel across the country, and tales begin and are submerged by greater stories, to reveal a panoramic view of eighteenth-century society. But while Jacques seems to choose his own path, he remains convinced of one philosophical belief: that every decision he makes, however whimsical, is wholly predetermined. Playful, picaresque and comic, Diderot's novelis a compelling exploration of Enlightment philosophy. Brilliantly original in style, it is one of the greatest precursors to post-modern literature. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Jacques the Fatalist and His Master (Penguin Classics)

In this selection of writings, largely unpublished during Diderot's lifetime, the reader encounters the private man, an engaging character who uses his intellect critically to explore the relationship between Enlightenment thought and the arts. Often using a dialogue format, Diderot's critiques encompass an enormous range of interests in a duality of styles, spontaneous and subversive one moment, methodical and sober the next. He discusses the role of an audience with a character in his own fictitious play whilst his reflections on art and reality are illustrated by a stroll through one of his favourite landscape paintings.

Selected Writings on Art and Literature (Penguin Classics)

History & Criticism

Penguin Group USA

Diderot's The Nun (La Religieuse) is the seemingly true story of a young girl forced by her parents to enter a convent and take holy orders. A novel mingling mysticism, madness, sadistic cruelty and nascent sexuality, it gives a scathing insight into the effects of forced vocations and the unnatural life of the convent. A succès de scandale at the end of the eighteenth century, it has attracted and unsettled readers ever since. For Diderot's novel is not simply a story of a young girl with a bad habit; it is also a powerfully emblematic fable about oppression and intolerance. This new translation includes Diderot's all-important prefatory material, which he placed, disconcertingly, at the end of the novel, and which turns what otherwise seems like an exercise in realism into what is now regarded as a masterpiece of proto-modernist fiction.

The Nun (Oxford World's Classics)

Goulbourne, Russell

Oxford University Press

In his brilliant and witty dialogue, Denis Diderot invents a chance encounter in a Paris café between two acquaintances. Their talk ranges broadly across art, music, education, and the contemporary scene, as the nephew of composer Rameau, amoral and bohemian, alternately shocks and amuses the moral, bourgeois figure of his interlocutor. Exuberant and highly entertaining, the dialogue exposes the corruption of society in Diderot's characteristic philosophical exploration. The debates of the French Enlightenment speak to us vividly in this sparkling new translation, which also includes the only English translation of First Satire, a related work that provides the context for Rameau's Nephew, Diderot's 'second satire.' Edited by distinguished translator Margaret Mauldon, with lively introduction and notes by Nicholas Cronk, the edition includes, for the first time in English, extracts from Goethe's commentary on this seminal Enlightenment work. It will prove a valuable addition to the library to any lover of French literature.

Rameau's Nephew and First Satire (Oxford World's Classics)

Mauldon, Margaret

Contemporary

Diderot has been admired as a novelist, philosopher, and encyclopedist, but he is less well known as a writer of short fiction. This volume presents his five remarkable philosophical tales including "This Is Not a Story," "On the Inconsistency of Public Opinion Regarding Our Private Action," and "Supplement to Bougainville's Voyage," as well as "The Two Friends From Bourbonne" and "Conversation of a Father with His Children: or the Danger of Setting Oneself Above the Law," both of which are here translated into English for the first time.

This is Not a Story and Other Stories (The ^AWorld's Classics)

Jacques the Fatalist is a provocative exploration of the problems of human existence, destiny, and free will. In the introduction to this brilliant translation, David Coward explains the philosophical basis of Diderot's fascination with fate and examines the experimental and influential literary techniques that make Jacques the Fatalist a classic of the Enlightenment.

Jacques the Fatalist (Oxford World's Classics)

Coward, David

Jacques the Fatalist is a provocative exploration of the problems of human existence, destiny, and free will. In the introduction to this brilliant translation, David Coward explains the philosophical basis of Diderot's fascination with fate and examines the experimental and influential literary techniques that make Jacques the Fatalist a classic of the Enlightenment. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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Books by DIDEROT, DENIS

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by DIDEROT, DENIS. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Rameau's Nephew and Other Works

Rameau's Nephew and D'Alembert's Dream (Penguin Classics)

The Nun (Penguin Classics)

Jacques the Fatalist and His Master (Penguin Classics)

Selected Writings on Art and Literature (Penguin Classics)

The Nun (Oxford World's Classics)

Rameau's Nephew and First Satire (Oxford World's Classics)

This is Not a Story and Other Stories (The ^AWorld's Classics)

Jacques the Fatalist (Oxford World's Classics)

Jacques the Fatalist (Oxford World's Classics)