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Philipp Blom

Wicked Company: Freethinkers and Friendship in pre-Revolutionary Paris Hardcover – 31 Mar. 2011

by Philipp Blom (Author)

4.5 64 ratings

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Imagine the world's most brilliant and charismatic people around one dinner table, the greatest philosophers, novelists, scientists, actors and political activists - and imagine them joking one moment and then immersed in intense discussion broken by bursts of laughter. Imagine also that this astonishing company was defined not only by who is at the table, but by what they say: opinions radical enough to land them all in prison.
The decade-long flourishing, in the 1760s, of friendship and radical philosophy in Baron Holbach's Paris salon is a seminal moment in Western history, a moment of astonishing radicalism in European thought, so uncompromising and bold that its vision has still not be fully realised. Frequented by a group of men and women who were united by their love of intellectual freedom, by their contempt for the conventional and often by the danger of persecution into which they put themselves, Holbach's house became the epicentre of freethinking, a place like no other in eighteenth-century Europe. The guests would talk until deep into the night, dreaming up a bold, new way of doing things, of thinking about the world and about society - a way we have come to call modernity.
The book focuses on the early life of four young men, two philosophers (Hume and Rousseau) and two philosophes (Didenot and Holbach) as they set out with a mixture of desperation and optimism to travel and study. Philipp Blom's new book dazzlingly combines biography with the history of ideas and the birth of modernism.

Print length

384 pages
Language

English
Publisher

W&N
Publication date

31 Mar. 2011
Dimensions

16.5 x 3.5 x 24 cm
ISBN-10

0297858181
ISBN-13

978-0297858188
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Product description

Review

Mr Blom's book is part biography and part polemic. He sketches the early lives of Diderot, Holbach, Rousseau and other players in the drama, and describes the philosophy they hammered out. It is also an iconoclastic rebuttal of what he describes as the "official" history of the Enlightenment. (THE ECONOMIST)

Blom's passionate enthusiasm for ideas and his immersive knowledge has created a crash course in the great debates of a distant era but he leaves us in no doubt that the arguments of the 18th century have yet to be resolved (Ben Felsenburg METRO)

'Blom is such a stylish and clever writer: his prose is as lucid and elegant as any of his 18th-century heroes...Blom's book is not only a pleasure to read but also a celebration of the real and material joys to be found in the godless universe" (Andrew Hussey FINANCIAL TIMES)

Blom skilfully weaves his story around a large cast of characters...(and) teases out the nuances of the group's ideas with considerable finesse. (Suzi Feay INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY)

(An) engaging portrait (David Auberach TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT)

A remarkable group of men populate the pages of Philipp Blom's quirky and original book. (Jonathan Sumption THE SPECTATOR)

Blom succeeds in conveying a lot of detailed information about the philosophes' friendships and amorous adventures to the general reader in engaging and readily accessible prose. (Ruth Scurr LITERARY REVIEW)

Book Description

Dazzling recreation of the world of radical free-thinkers in 18th-century France.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W&N (31 Mar. 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0297858181
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0297858188
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.5 x 3.5 x 24 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 2,124,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 3,912 in Political History of Revolutions & Coups
- 8,175 in History of France
- 79,196 in Social & Cultural History

Customer reviews:
4.5 64 ratings

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4.5 out of 5

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Aubury

Freedom of thought and ideas, Enlightenment

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 August 2016

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As someone with a limited education in philosophy ( not a secondary education subject in my day at leas) it came as both a history lesson in pre revolutionary France, of mighty interlect's and giant egos of Europe's foremost thinkers. A really fine book, Highly recommended

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Amazon Customer

superb account of the era

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 May 2017

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an exceptional account of the radical element in the enlightenment period of human development, a balanced and readable text that would do much to help inform contemporary opinions , which are often still entrenched with unseen prejudices based on cultural norms that have their origin in a belief system that is based on acceptance of an obvious fantasy.

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Dr. G. Kennedy

Excellent account of an important corner of French non-conformist society

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 November 2013

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Well written - in place sublime.
The characters (Diderot, Rouseaux, etc) who are well known in outline, are fully painted in relevant details. A very enjoyable read about 18th century French society, already crumbling irremedial fault-lines, and the men and women used to polite conversations and decaying relationships between them and the Church and State.
Lovely pen portraits of the men and women involved. A joy to read.

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Charlotte

awesome title- the rest is just as dense.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 January 2013

Verified Purchase

I confess, this is not my taste; bought as a Christmas gift for my scholarly mother. Thorough, deeply embedded researched and exactly what it says on the cover.

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Emily Heath

An interesting subject but not well written

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 October 2020

I've read a lot of books on the Age of Enlightenment but none that gave much detail on Diderot or Holbach, which is why I bought this book. It is a huge disappointment, the writing is not good and there are many glaring errors, i.e. Madame de Maintenant (Madame that translates as Now. Non, une grosse erreur!, she was Madame de Maintenon). The great essayist was Michel de Montaigne NOT Pierre de Montaigne (who was the essayist's father). The book is littered with errors and is written in irritating Americanised English, which would be fine if the author were American, and he would not be irritating, I'm sure, but the author is writing in a language which he did not grow up speaking or writing and it shows! This book, stylistically awful, was very disappointing.

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Wicked Company

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 April 2011

This is an enthralling look at the Enlightenment in Pre-Revolutionary Paris and, in particular, at one of the many famous salons there - that of Baron d'Holbach. His salon was different from most, often grander salons, which were headed by ladies who wished to encourage literature. Holbach's was more of a male preserve, and he attracted free thinkers, philosophers and scientists. Along with early friends, such as Diderot and Rousseau, his house became a magnet for those thinkers and intellectuals who wished to replace religion with science. The Enlightenment battle cry was "Sapere aude!" - "Dare to know!", but this was easier said that done in a time where the Church and State imposed heavy censorship. Diderot found himself in prison for a while and Holbach himself was forced to publish books under false names and to smuggle chapters out of the country, using ruses such as having different people to copy them out to disguise his own handwriting. Diderot spent most of his life compiling the magnificent "Encyclopadie", but even something, as seemingly innocuous as listing things in alphabetical order, rather than giving precedence to certain topics, was seen as dangerous in those times.

Despite the dangers in their beliefs, the salon became famous throughout Europe. David Hume, who arrived in Paris in 1763 to take up assignment as embassy secretary, was well known for his six volume "History of England". This was seen as daring, as it would have been impossible to write such a work on French history. He was feted, as all Paris scrambled to meet him. Diderot and Holbach (by now, Rousseau had fallen out with a previous friends, as he would also fall out later with Hume), spoke excellent English. They attracted Hume to their salon, as they did other international visitors, including the actor David Garrick and the Italian Cesare Becccaria, who opposed the death penalty.

These were heady times and the group were attacking religion, were against slavery, calling for better education for girls and suggesting that humans were oppressed by religion and should be looking at The Pursuit of Happiness. However, despite all the ideas and philosophy in this book, it is also just the story of a group of men and their lives. About their relationships and the arguments between them and Rousseau, who had become a successful author in his own right and who felt persecuted. Rousseau also successfully combined sentiment with a philosophical defence of religion, which was more acceptable to the majority of people. Also, the whole group were looked on from exile, by Voltaire, afraid that his position was being usurped.

The events and circumstances were against these men, and their ideas. Yet, still they flourished and their ideas could not be repressed. These group of men were advocating ideas that were totally unacceptable at that time - they supported the American revolution and concluded sometimes that only a revolution could rid oppressed people of violence from above. Paris would see that revolution and some of the ideas which led to it, certainly emerged from the salon of Baron d'Holbach, although ultimately they were rejected by Robespierre as being too dangerous. The people who believed that freedom would come when the last King had been strangled by the last Priest's entrails, were rejected in favour of their rival Rousseau. Yet, no group of people had done so much to change the society's way of thinking and, at one time, they were the centre of the intellectual elite. Fascinating read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. As a last comment, I read the kindle edition of this book and it contained illustrations.

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Wicked Company: Freethinkers and Friendship in pre-Revolutionary Paris Hardcover – 31 Mar. 2011

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Book Description

About the Author

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About the author

Philipp Blom

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

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