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A definitive biography of the great French essayist and thinker

One of the most important writers and thinkers of the Renaissance, Michel de Montaigne (1533-92) helped invent a literary genre that seemed more modern than anything that had come before. But did he do it, as he suggests in his Essays, by retreating to his chateau, turning his back on the world, and stoically detaching himself from his violent times? In this definitive biography, Philippe Desan, one of the world's leading authorities on Montaigne, overturns this longstanding myth by showing that Montaigne was constantly concerned with realizing his political ambitions--and that the literary and philosophical character of the Essays largely depends on them. The most comprehensive and authoritative biography of Montaigne yet written, this sweeping narrative offers a fascinating new picture of his life and work.

As Desan shows, Montaigne always considered himself a political figure and he conceived of each edition of the Essays as an indispensable prerequisite to the next stage of his public career. He lived through eight civil wars, successfully lobbied to be raised to the nobility, and served as mayor of Bordeaux, special ambassador, and negotiator between Henry III and Henry of Navarre. It was only toward the very end of Montaigne's life, after his political failure, that he took refuge in literature. But, even then, it was his political experience that enabled him to find the right tone for his genre.

In this essential biography, we discover a new Montaigne--caught up in the events of his time, making no separation between private and public life, and guided by strategy first in his words and silences. Neither candid nor transparent, but also not yielding to the cynicism of his age, this Montaigne lends a new depth to the Montaigne of literary legend.

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Acknowledgments	p. ix
Prologue	p. xi
Introduction	p. xvii
Questions of Method and. the Politics of a Book	p. xix
Part 1	Ambitions	
Chapter 1	    The Eyquems'' Social Ascension	p. 3
        A Family Matter	p. 7
        "Nobilibus parentibus"	p. 15
        Living Nobly	p. 20
        "We Latinized Ourselves"	p. 28
        The Balance Sheet of a Humanist Education	p. 37
Chapter 2	    A First Career as a Magistrate (1556-1570)	p. 48
        Parlementary Habitus	p. 55
        From the Cour des Aides in Périgueux to the Parlement in Bordeaux	p. 67
        Michel de Montaigne, Royal Councillor	p. 84
        The Religious Question	p. 101
Chapter 3	    La Boétie and Montaigne: Discourse on Servitude and Essay of Allegiance	p. 112
        The Letter about La Boétie''s Deadi	p. 117
        La Boétie''s Political Treatises: The Memorandum and the Discourse	p. 123
        Voluntary Servitude and Allegiance	p. 133
        The Politics of a Friendship	p. 143
Chapter 4	    "Witness My Cannibals": The Encounter with the Indians of the New World	p. 155
        Tupinambas and Tabajaras	p. 159
        From Rouen to Bordeaux	p. 167
        "Their Warfare Is Wholly Noble and Generous"	p. 175
        A "Simulacrum of the Truth"	p. 179
Chapter 5	    The Making of a Gentleman (1570-1580)	p. 183
        The Break with the Parlement	p. 185
        Montaigne as Editor of La Boétie''s Works	p. 199
        Dedicatees Influential at the Court	p. 207
        An Inconvenient Publication	p. 217
        An Influential Neighbor: The Marquis of Trans	p. 222
        Honorific Rewards and Clientelism	p. 232
        Montaigne at Work	p. 246
Chapter 6	    The Essais of 1580: Moral, Political, and Military Discourses	p. 254
        "A Discourse on My Life and Actions"	p. 256
        The First Reader of the Essais	p. 269
        "Of the Battle of Gods"	p. 277
        An Apology for Sebond or a Justification of Montaigne?	p. 285
        A Skeleton in the Closet	p. 299
        A Royal Audience and a Military Siege	p. 307
Part 2	Practices	
Chapter 7	    The Call of Rome, Or How Montaigne Never Became an Ambassador (1580-1581)	p. 319
        On Territory "Subject to the Emperor"	p. 321
        The Ambassador''s Trade	p. 326
        A Montaigne in Spain	p. 351
        Montaigne in Rome	p. 357
        Paul de Foix and the Suspicion of Heresy	p. 371
        Roman Citizen	p. 377
        The Essais "Castigated and Brought into Harmony with the Opinions of the Monkish Doctors"	p. 386
        The Sociability of the Baths	p. 392
        The Travel Journal and the Secretary	p. 401
Chapter 8	    "Messieurs of Bordeaux Elected Me Mayor of Their City" (1581-1585)	p. 408
        The Mayor''s Book	p. 412
        Bordeaux and Its Administration	p. 422
        The Public Welfare	p. 436
        A Contested Reelection	p. 444
        Manager of the City and "Tender Negotiator"	p. 455
        An "Administration ... without a Mark or a Trace"?	p. 473
Chapter 9	    "Benignity of the Great" and "Public Ruin" (1585-1588)	p. 482
        "Through an Extraordinarily Ticklish Part of the Country"	p. 487
        Secret Mission	p. 501
        "I Buy Printers in Guienne, Elsewhere They Buy Me"	p. 508
        Imprisoned in the Bastille	p. 523
        "A Girl in Picardy"	p. 530
        Observer at the Estates General of Blois	p. 539
        "Actum est de Gallia"	p. 545
Chapter 10	    The Marginalization of Montaigne (1588-1592)	p. 549
        A Tranquil Life	p. 551
        "The Only Book in the World of Its Kind"	p. 566
        From History to the Essay: Commynes and Tacitus	p. 580
        Socrates or Political Suicide	p. 589
        Montaigne''s Death	p. 603
Part 3	Post Mortem	
Chapter 11	    Montaigne''s Political Posterity	p. 613
        Political Appropriations	p. 614
        Censure and Morality	p. 621
Epilogue	p. 631
Abbreviations	p. 635
Notes	p. 637
Bibliography	p. 723
Translations Cited	p. 765
Index	p. 767