Jewish Spy (novel)
Encyclopedia
Lettres juives or The Jewish Spy (1738-1742) is an epistolary novel
attributed to Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens
. It "purports to be a translation of the correspondence between five distinguished rabbis who reside in different cities. ... The book comprises a survey of the various governments of Europe at whose several capitals these Jewish rabbis reside either permanently or temporarily during their travels. ... Though Marquis d'Argens signs himself as the translator, he is doubtless the author."
He "began publishing the letters in serial form, two per week, in December 1735. Twenty months, 180 letters, and over 350,000 words later, he had completed his monumental work. Meanwhile, his publisher had begun selling the letters in volumes of 30 and by the end of 1737 had produced 6 volumes in octavo. By the end of 1739 at least 10 editions, most of them pirated, had been published in French. ... Numerous translations of the novel also appeared in English, German and Dutch." "The prolific d'Argens was enormously popular in his day and was best known for this novel."
Epistolary novel
An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use...
attributed to Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens
Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens
Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens was a French philosopher and writer.An arch-opponent of the Catholic Church, intolerance and religious oppression, he had to flee his native France and his books were frequently denounced by the Inquisition...
. It "purports to be a translation of the correspondence between five distinguished rabbis who reside in different cities. ... The book comprises a survey of the various governments of Europe at whose several capitals these Jewish rabbis reside either permanently or temporarily during their travels. ... Though Marquis d'Argens signs himself as the translator, he is doubtless the author."
He "began publishing the letters in serial form, two per week, in December 1735. Twenty months, 180 letters, and over 350,000 words later, he had completed his monumental work. Meanwhile, his publisher had begun selling the letters in volumes of 30 and by the end of 1737 had produced 6 volumes in octavo. By the end of 1739 at least 10 editions, most of them pirated, had been published in French. ... Numerous translations of the novel also appeared in English, German and Dutch." "The prolific d'Argens was enormously popular in his day and was best known for this novel."
Further reading
- d'Argens. The Jewish spy: being a philosophical, historical, and critical correspondence by letters, which lately passed between certain Jews in Turkey, Italy, France, etc.; translated from the original into French by the Marquis d'Argens, and now done into English; 3rd ed. London: Printed for A. Miller, J. Rivington, et al., 1765. v.5 Google books
- H. Carrington Lancaster. Observations on French, Spanish and English Theaters in D'Argens's Lettres Juives and Lettres Cabalistiques. Modern Language Notes, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Apr., 1954), pp. 231-237
- Brav, Stanley R. Jews and Judaism in The Jewish Spy. Studies in Bibliography and Booklore 4 (1960), 133—141.
External links
- Open Library. Works by d'Argens, including Jewish Spy