"L'Histoire de Charles XII" is Voltaire's first major history, and relates the story of a warrior king, who was to Voltaire the embodiment of the 'hero', admirable for his strength in battle but at the same time tyrannical to the people he had no respect for - a king who stood in sharp contrast to the 'benevolent tyrant' Peter the Great, who had founded an empire of the Enlightenment. Voltaire's view of Charles became massively influential throughout the eighteenth century.
- ISBN13 9780729405072
- Publish Date 1 January 1996
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Voltaire Foundation
- Edition Critical edition
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 719
- Language French
- URL http://https://voltaire.ox.ac.uk/book/histoire-de-charles-xii