Michel de Montaigne (1533-92) is principally known today as a literary figure—the inventor of the modern essay and the pioneer of autobiographical self-exploration who retired from politics in midlife to write his private, philosophical, and apolitical Essais. But, as Biancamaria Fontana argues in Montaigne’s Politics, a novel, vivid account of the political meaning of the Essais in the context of Montaigne’s life and times, his retirement from the Bordeaux parliament in 1570 “could be said to have marked the beginning, rather than the end, of his public career.” He later served as mayor of Bordeaux and advisor to King Henry of Navarre, and, as Fontana argues, Montaigne’s Essais very much reflect his ongoing involvement and preoccupation with contemporary politics—particularly the politics of France’s civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. Fontana shows that the Essais, although written as a record of Montaigne’s personal experiences, do nothing less than set forth the first major critique of France’s ancien régime, anticipating the main themes of Enlightenment writers such as Voltaire and Diderot. Challenging the views that Montaigne was politically aloof or evasive, or that he was a conservative skeptic and supporter of absolute monarchy, Fontana explores many of the central political issues in Montaigne’s work—the reform of legal institutions, the prospects of religious toleration, the role of public opinion, and the legitimacy of political regimes.
Biancamaria Fontana is professor of the history of political ideas at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. Her books include Rethinking the Politics of Commercial Society and Benjamin Constant and the Post-Revolutionary Mind.
"Drawing on the historical research of Geralde Nakam and others, [Fontana] illuminates the political dimension of the work by reading it against precise contexts. . . . A more historically grounded political understanding of the Essais, and essential orientation for those who engage in even closer styles of reading."—Neil Kenny, Times Literary Supplement
"Far from being politically detached, Montaigne served in his provincial parliament. His famed guardedness in writing derived from his practical and theoretical reflections upon the French civil wars of religion, unceasing throughout his mature life. The certainty of partisans and the confusion of authorities alike pointed him toward skepticism concerning all claims to rule. Fontana nonetheless defends Montaigne from suspicions of religious unbelief. Fontana equally defends Montaigne against charges of Machiavellianism, rightly considering him less openly audacious. Fontana prudently directs new readers of the Essais not to begin by thinking Montaigne Machiavellian."—W. Morrisey, Hillsdale College, for, CHOICE
"By enriching our knowledge of the political and historical background of the Essais, Fontana has made it easier to link what Montaigne has to say about his own particular time and place to his political philosophy which transcends that time and place."—Ann Hartle, Review of Politics
"[Fontana's] reading of Montaigne, combined with the readability of her prose (a welcome thing in any scholarly work) and the brevity of her book (fewer than 150 pages, not counting notes) make this an effort one with only passing interest in the subject can read with both pleasure and profit."—Donald D. Wells, Sixteenth Century Journal
"[Montaigne's] political theory and practice are skillfully dissected by Biancamaria Fontana in Montaigne's Politics. . . . After reading this clear argument some scholars will have to change their minds. Good books always change minds. This is one. They also point up problems to consider further."—Bibliotheque d'Humanisme et Renaissance
"Montaigne's Politics offers a lucid overview of—and new insights into—Montaigne's political theory (and practice). It is well informed of Montaigne's Essais, the secondary literature, and the historical context."—Antoine Compagnon, Columbia University and the Sorbonne
"This well-conceived work valuably fills an important gap in the scholarship. The historical, contextual, and biographical material is substantial and illuminating. It covers a wide expanse of ground in great depth."—Michael Moriarty, Queen Mary, University of London
