Voltaire et le roman historique

Résumé

VOLTAIRE AND THE HISTORICAL NOVEL

The article takes as a starting point the well-known hesitations of and even disagreements among critics regarding the classification of Voltaire’s works. The category of historical novel helps here to foster a discussion about genres by positing Voltaire’s case as one that is both exemplary and problematic. His case is therefore related to and underlined by the recently renewed interest in questions regarding the historical novel as well as the links between literature and history in general. In this respect, the highly heuristic quality of Voltaire’s works can all the more help us to explore new paths in both fields.