Essays: The Florio Translation (Annotated)

- Includes a critical introduction and up-to-date bibliography

Montaigne’s Essays are one of the masterpieces of French literature. Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-1592) invented the essay genre for the modern world, and his free-flowing explorations of a bewildering array of topics have never ceased to dazzle, entertain and inspire their readers. John Florio was Montaigne’s first English translator, and he comes closer than has anyone since to capturing the expansive, baroque spirit of the original. It was Florio’s Montaigne that was read by Shakespeare and that influenced the canon of English literature. Florio’s version is the translation of choice for those who want to experience the true spirit of Montaigne’s great work, and it is a classic in its own right. There have long been, and remain, vigorous proponents of the theory that Florio is the true author of Shakespeare’s works. This is a testament to the quality of Florio’s language, which with its dazzling beauty and ingenuity – he added over a thousand new words that have become lasting additions to English – can stand comfortably next to anything written by the Bard.
Lexicos Books is proud to present the first ebook edition of Florio’s classic translation of Montaigne’s Essays, complete and unabridged. It has been meticulously edited and formatted for Kindle, with an active table of contents, editor’s introduction, and up-to-date bibliography of works both about Montaigne and about Florio.

“The idea, that by writing about oneself one can create a mirror in which other people recognise their own humanity, has not existed for ever. It had to be invented. And, unlike many cultural inventions, it can be traced to a single person: Michel Eyquem de Montaigne. Montaigne created the idea simply by doing it.” Sarah Bakewell