Inspired by Voltaire's two-year stay in England (1726-8), this is one ofthe key works of the Enlightment. Exactly contemporary with Gulliver's Travelsand The Beggar's Opera, Voltaire's controversial pronouncements on politics,philosophy, religion, and literature have place the Letters among the greatAugustan satires.Voltaire wrote most of the book in English, in which he was fluent and witty,and it fast became a bestseller in Britain. He re-wrote it in French as theLettres philosophiques, and current editions in English translate his French.This edition restores for the modern reader Voltaire's own English text,allowing us to appreciate him as a stylist at first hand. It is the onlycritical edition of the original text and, as well as providing an introductionand notes, it includes intriguing accounts of Voltaire by contemporary Englishovservers.