This collection is dedicated to John D. Lyons, Commonwealth Professor of French at the University of Virginia and a preeminent scholar of early modern France and Italy. Lyons's long and influential academic career has been instrumental in shaping generations of undergraduates, postgraduates and early career researchers through his teaching, advising, mentorship and critical reading. Bringing together original chapters from leading scholars in North America, Great Britain and France in the fields of medieval and early modern literature and culture, this volume will build upon the breadth and depth of Lyons's wide-ranging corpus that spans a remarkable array of genres, including philosophy, the novel, theatre and history. The studies are organized around the key themes of Lyons's research throughout his illustrious career and engage with authors ranging from Saint Augustine, Giovanni Boccaccio, Niccolo Machiavelli and Maria de Zayas to Francois Rabelais, Michel de Montaigne, Madeleine and Georges de Scudery, Rene Descartes, Blaise Pascal, Marie-Madeleine de Lafayette, Pierre and Thomas Corneille, Moliere, Jean Racine, Jean le Rond d'Alembert and Voltaire.