The Spirit of Montesquieu’s Persian Letters

Montesquieu’s Persian Letters is one of the gems of the Enlightenment, at once amusing and profound, accessible and sophisticated. This marvelous collection of essays not only does justice to the book’s complexities but also demonstrates that the issues and questions raised by Montesquieu’s story remain as relevant today as they were three centuries ago.

-- Dennis C. Rasmussen, Syracuse University

This volume is a most welcome and truly important contribution to serious interpretive reflection on what is perhaps the most understudied, and least well understood, great work of political philosophy. A true galaxy of contributors includes many of the most distinguished scholars of Montesquieu and of French Enlightenment political thought—each of whom has penned a gem of an essay. A true feast for the intellect!

-- Thomas L. Pangle, University of Texas at Austin

This impressive volume -- the first dedicated to Montequieu's Persian Letters -- will not only serve as a benchmark for future scholarship on this important philosophical novel, but it will also inspire. It restores a very important part of Montesquieu's work to his overall political thought, and there is not one weak contribution in it.

-- Khalil Habib, Hillsdale Col