{"product_id":"the-spirit-of-montesquieu-s-persian-letters-9781666913279","title":"The Spirit of Montesquieu’s Persian Letters","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book’s primary purpose is to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Montesquieu’s Persian Letters, a seminal book in classical liberal thought. Persian Letters is a delightfully rich, sympathetic satire of commercial society’s promise and discontents, covering a wide range of issues and themes that shaped the direction of liberal modernity. It consists of a series of letters largely written by two Persian travelers to Paris, who allow modern readers to view Parisian life from the perspective of an outsider. The volume includes contributions from prominent scholars of Montesquieu’s and early career scholars who have recently unearthed new and exciting avenues for understanding this important hinge-figure in modern political thought.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eMontesquieu’s Persian Letters is one of the gems of the Enlightenment, at once amusing and profound, accessible and sophisticated. This marvelous collection of essays not only does justice to the book’s complexities but also demonstrates that the issues and questions raised by Montesquieu’s story remain as relevant today as they were three centuries ago.\u003c\/p\u003e -- Dennis C. Rasmussen, Syracuse University\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis volume is a most welcome and truly important contribution to serious interpretive reflection on what is perhaps the most understudied, and least well understood, great work of political philosophy. A true galaxy of contributors includes many of the most distinguished scholars of Montesquieu and of French Enlightenment political thought—each of whom has penned a gem of an essay. A true feast for the intellect! \u003c\/p\u003e -- Thomas L. Pangle, University of Texas at Austin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis impressive volume -- the first dedicated to Montequieu's Persian Letters -- will not only serve as a benchmark for future scholarship on this important philosophical novel, but it will also inspire. It restores a very important part of Montesquieu's work to his overall political thought, and there is not one weak contribution in it. \u003c\/p\u003e -- Khalil Habib, Hillsdale College\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eForeword, Helena Rosenblatt\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePART I: The Persian Letters in the History of Political Theory\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 1. Philosophizing the Passions: The Seraglio as Laboratory in the Persian Letters Céline Spector\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 2. Conflict in the Persian Letters, Pauline Kra\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 3. Persian Letters in Time: Adhesive Past: Bright, Unstable Present: Divergent, Fragile Futures, Michael Mosher\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePART II: The Persian Letters on Nature and Convention in Politics\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 4. Pitfalls of Abstract Ideals: Usbek on the Law of Nations, Andrea Radasanu\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 5. Faces of Monarchy in West and East and the Limits of Traditional Jurisprudence: Montesquieu in Dialogue with Bodin in the Persian Letters, Rebecca Kingston\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 6. The Struggle for Recognition and the Economy of Esteem in and out of the Seraglio, Robert Sparling\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePART III: The Persian Letters on Commercial Society\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 7. The Plague of High Finance in Montesquieu’s Persian Letters, Emily Nacol and Constantine Christos Vassiliou\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 8. The Political Economy of the Persian Letters; or, Self-Interest Wrongly Understood, in Three Lessons, Ryan Hanley\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 9. Female Modesty and the Spirit of Commerce in Montesquieu’s Persian Letters, Lee Ward\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 10. Rica in Paris: Sociability and Cosmopolitanism in the Persian Letters., Megan Gallagher\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePART IV: The Persian Letters as a Critique of Modernity\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 11. Who is the Hero of the Persian Letters, Jeffrey Church\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 12. Hiding in Plain Sight: Montesquieu as a Friendly Influence in The Persian Letters, Vickie Sullivan\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 13. What did Usbek—and the Reader—Know, and When Did He Know It?, John T. Scott\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 14. The Book of Relations: Reflections from Montesquieu's Persian Letters, Stuart Warner\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 15. The Unknown Chains of Enlightenment: The Irony of Philosophy or an Ironic Philosopher, Peter Lund\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAbout the Contributors\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lexington Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51042009579863,"sku":"9781666913279","price":76.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781666913279.jpg?v=1750952607","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-spirit-of-montesquieu-s-persian-letters-9781666913279","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}