Montaigne (Pushkin Collection)

Very well written and thoughtful biography of Montaigne. I found Zweig's tone quite appropriate for our modern times, and his lively and humane approach to his subject great enhanced my appreciation for Montaigne. This is one of those biographies that is a viable work of literature that also serves to elucidate and reveal its subject in a most pleasing way.

I am glad I had the fortune to select this book. I now know more of this man, Montaigne, and had a pleasant experience learning it. Far from being dry and detail oriented, the author took special care to describe the qualities of the man that made him an important figure in history.

Stefan Zweig’s short biography of Michel de Montaigne is clarifying in the best sense. I first read Montaigne’s Essays many years ago, but Zweig places them — and Montaigne himself — firmly in historical, political, and human context. The Wars of Religion, the instability of the age, the inward turn of a man seeking sanity amid fanaticism — all of it comes into focus. Zweig’s account is succinct and lucid, yet deeply sympathetic. He helps us see Montaigne not as a timeless voice floating above history, but as a thinker forged by it. Finishing this book, I felt not only a renewed desire to return to Montaigne, but a strong pull to read more Zweig — his other biographies but also HIS biography.

I ordered it more for Stephan Zweig than Montaigne. Zweig's presentation gave me a better understanding of Montaigne. Why he wrote in the way he did. Why he focused on certain topics. Also, re-awakened me to the woman that helped edit his Essays: Marie Le Jars de Gournay.

amazing discovery to read this book

Thank you to Pushkin Collection for re-publishing Stefan Zweig's biography of Montaigne. Zweig's personal, somewhat casual, yet highly informed style of writing for biography totally engaged me in Montaigne's life and also led me to a renewed wish to read the Essays sooner rather than later. In this current age of vile and petty discourse, I enjoyed the call to searching for "knowing the self." Very little of this is in evidence in the public forum today leaving Montaigne's wish for solitude so understandable. Also his wish for travel in order to know as many people and customs different from himself and those he already knew as possible. Those who have read other of Sweig's biographies will not be surprised at the lack of citations for quotes in the text. I noted the lack of footnotes in Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman. While at first this may have irked me in this latter book, I grew not to mind it at all. And in Montaigne it really did not bother me as I knew that the source was Montaigne unless another source was mentioned, such as a letter from the king. I am only mentioning this as it is a Zweig quirk, not a publishing error. I highly recommend this as a brief and engaging introduction to the life of Montaigne and a glimpse into the Essays. What better service can a biography provide than to whet the appetite for the works of its subject. A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

The best book to quickly know about Montagne.

Good book

Great condition and arrived quickly. Exactly as described. Thank you!

Stefan Zweig is a master at getting the important information and presenting it in a flowing and easily understandable style. I recommend this short and informative biography to anyone interested in Montaigne,s ideas and his time. It can also make you nostalgic for influential writers who spoke up on behalf of moderation and common sense which seems to be disappearing in this generation!

A beautiful edition of an excellent book about a great man. Absolutely recommended. Thanks, Pushkin Collection. Do not miss it.

In such epochs where the highest values of life—our peace, our independence, our basic rights, all that makes our existence more pure, more beautiful, all that justifies it—are sacrificed to the demon inhabiting a dozen fanatics and ideologues, all the problems of the man who fears for his humanity come down to the same question: how to remain free? Among Zweig’s last few works, his biography of Montaigne (1941), in which as translator Will Stone points out, Zweig takes ‘a more or less conventional biographical route’, nonetheless gives the reader insights into both the subject of the biography, Michel de Montaigne and Zweig himself, through Montaigne’s ideas that resonated with him, given the time he was living in. The introduction by Stone helps the reader contextualize and identify the connections and influences between biographer and subject. While Zweig had read Montaigne as a young man, his thoughts came to hold relevance and meaning only later in life when the circumstances in which he was living had changed; ‘freedom and tolerance’ which seemed ‘assured’ when he was young, were no longer so. Thus, it was when Zweig was living in Brazil and reread Montaigne’s Essais that he felt that ‘fraternity’ and decided to write a biography, throwing himself into research, helped among others by Fortunat Strowski, a specialist on Montaigne who lent Zweig his books and expertise. Montaigne had a rather interesting life, living within the parameters of society and yet in his own frame, doing all of the usual things, yet also some unusual ones; sometimes in favour with society and sought, at others side-lined. Born in the Chateau de Montaigne (and the only one to hold that name for his family name was Eyquem), he belonged to a wealthy family, but one which had worked its way up from humbler circumstances as fish merchants. As a child, his father chose to ground him by sending him to live his first few years in a peasant’s home; but after his return, both his initial upbringing and education turned out both to his advantage (for instance, he was taught Latin by everyone around him speaking to him in Latin and nothing else, contrary to the harsher education methods common at the time) and disadvantage (his inability to adjust to rote learning when he was sent to school, or indeed to deal with the practical management of his estate when it came upon him to do so; in fact, he awaits the marriage of his then new-born daughter so that his son-in-law can take over all responsibility). Montaigne serves in public life, gets married, has children, but by the age of 38, is disillusioned by all and retires to a tower in his chateau, where he wants to devote his life to reading and to discovering himself (no easy pursuit; he seeks both the ‘I in self’ as well as the ‘human’). But then, 10 years later, after spending his time in relative seclusion (never a complete recluse) and publishing two volumes of his Essais, he realises that perhaps he has become ‘fossilized … narrow and mediocre’, that ‘his soul cannot remain in peace, when the world beyond is in uproar’. He then decides to set off on a journey, this time simply going where the road takes him (rather than for a purpose), only to be summoned back 18 months later to once again resume public responsibility. In this he faces some disgrace (abandoning Bordeaux, of which he is mayor during a bout of plague) but also great responsibility as negotiator between Henry de Navarre and Henry III. Montaigne’s life was certainly unusual and interesting to read about and I very much enjoyed the portrait that Zweig has put together. What really stood out for me, however, was Zweig’s introductory chapter where he discusses Montaigne’s thoughts and ideas in the context of Montaigne’s time which applied equally at the time Zweig was writing, and which I felt continue to hold the same relevance today. Through science and technology, the world is becoming more connected (‘Distances, borders between people were beginning to dissolve…’), nature’s ‘secrets’ are being revealed (though perhaps, humans think they have done so more than they really have for when nature acts or reacts, humans continue to be helpless), yet ‘instead of humanism, it was intolerance that spread’. Around Montaigne is a ‘mob frenzy of fury and hate’, citizens are killing citizens (on various pretexts) until a point where the murder continues and all pretext (even religion) is dispensed with. Not much different from the atmosphere of hate and intolerance that prevails in the present. It is in this environment that Montaigne ponders on how he can preserve his true self (as does Zweig who like Montaigne is struggling with the world he is living in) for Nothing can lower or raise yourself from outside; that which remains inwardly free and sincere easily defeats the strongest pressure from the exterior. For Zweig (and Montaigne) one answer lies in seeking certitude beyond the homeland, in exile perhaps; but in our own present even that seems not much of an option for all the world around is experiencing pretty much the same. These grave though relevant thoughts aside, I also very much enjoyed the chapter titled ‘The Creative Decade’ which reflects on Montaigne’s time in his tower and his relationship with books; another set of ideas which very much resonated with me, as For him books are not like men, who impose themselves and burden him with their chatter, and of whom, it is hard to be rid. Instead, he can converse with them as he chooses to do; and so he does, approaching them on his terms, not as a scholar or with any obligation, but reading what appeals to him, what leads him to think, which sharpen his faculty of judgement. Among his favourites are poetry and history (biography in particular). And this is the approach he takes in his later travels too! In his rather interesting life, which Montaigne manages to live to some extent on his own terms, while at the same time struggling through and even contributing to family, social life, and the politics of his time, and in his contribution to thought through the three volumes of his Essais, Montaigne’s story as told by Zweig gives its readers much to enjoy as well as ponder, for even if he may have had his flaws, Montaigne’s ideas continue to hold relevance today, and sadly will probably do so in times to come as well. This has definitely left me inspired to pick up the Essais, as also more of Zweig’s bios of which this was the first I read.

Montaigne lived his entire life, during a period of religious wars and political upheaval. This violent time period had followed, all the celebrated achievements of the Renaissance. The book`s author Stefan Zwieg finds himself in a similar situation. Throughout most of the 19th Century, peace and prosperity rained supreme. Global economic growth and scientific advancements had been unprecedented. The optimistic start of the 20th Century quickly descended into global war and genocide. Zwieg wonders how he can cope, with this period of human insanity. Zwieg finds himself drawn to Montaigne`s essays. Montaigne is able to maintain his own humanity, despite France`s raging religious war. Zwieg finds inspiration from Montaigne`s example. This biography reviews Montaigne`s life. Zwieg points Montaigne`s life lessons and how they applied to the 20th Century. Well, here we are at the start of the 21st Century. We also seem to find ourselves, descending into a period of inhuman violence. Terrorist attacks and mass civilian shootings have become the norm. These horrible acts are getting worse and more frequent. This current time period also followed, an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity. How is a person to make sense of it all? This is the question Zwieg attempts to answer. This is an enjoyable and quick read. I am a huge fan of Montaigne`s work. Therefore, there is a personal bias. Stefan Zwieg, in my opinion, is also a great writer.