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Paul and Virginia (1788) is a novel by Bernardin de St. Pierre.
Inspired by his experiences in Mauritius as a young man, the novel
was written for children and adults alike. In its depiction of an
ideal lifestyle on an island where equality and harmony reign, Paul
and Virginia is a sharp critique of social conditions in
pre-Revolutionary France. It is also a fascinating, albeit
problematic artifact of the colonial era, arguing for emancipation
while suggesting that slaves could live happily and with dignity
under the right conditions. Beloved by such figures as Thomas
Carlyle, Honore de Balzac, and Alexander von Humboldt, the
once-popular novel is largely unknown to modern readers. "On the
eastern coast of the mountain which rises above Port Louis in the
Mauritius, upon a piece of land bearing the marks of former
cultivation, are seen the ruins of two small cottages. Those ruins
are situated near the centre of a valley, formed by immense rocks,
and which opens only towards the north. On the left rises the
mountain, called the Height of Discovery, from whence the eye marks
the distant sail when it first touches the verge of the horizon,
and whence the signal is given when a vessel approaches the
island." On the beautiful island of Mauritius, Paul and Virginia
lead a simple lifestyle in harmony with nature. Slaveowners, they
aspire to treat their slaves with as much dignity and respect as
possible, much to the chagrin of their more traditional neighbors.
Despite their peaceful ways, the pressures of modern commerce
threaten to destroy the utopian existence they've built for
themselves in a valley not unlike paradise. With a beautifully
designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition
of Bernardin de St. Pierre's Paul and Virginia is a classic work of
French literature reimagined for modern readers.
Bernardin de Saint-Pierre is for most people the author of one
book: "Paul et Virginie." This new edition of his play "Empsael et
Zoraide," presented in a modernised spelling, makes available a
considerably more muscular text which illustrates his abolitionist
stance through its central irony: the masters are black and their
slaves white, joining forces in the antislavery debate which
reached its height with the French Revolution. Bernardin thus
introduces into it a rare element of humour which, had his play
ever been performed, would have made his audiences sit up and
think. This will be of interest to scholars and senior students
interested in Black Studies, the French Enlightenment and the
literature of revolution.
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