William Cleaver Wilkinson presents an exhaustive critical survey of French literature designed for English-speaking readers, prioritizing direct engagement with the texts over mere historical narrative. The volume opens with a rapid review of the national literature, noting its supreme brilliance in prose, philosophy, and comedy, coupled with its comparative weakness in poetry. The narrative then progresses methodically through the centuries, examining individual masters and their principal works.
The author begins with Froissart, characterizing him as a mediæval Herodotus whose chronicles brilliantly capture the vanishing world of chivalry. Moving into the Renaissance, Wilkinson analyzes the colossal and coarse humor of Rabelais, alongside the profound, egotistical, and deeply influential essays of Montaigne. The historical and literary arc then reaches its grand culmination in the Augustan age of Louis XIV., supported by the dual forces of the Hotel de Rambouillet and the French Academy.
Subsequent chapters delve into the aphoristic wisdom of La Rochefoucauld, the animal gayety and incomparable art of the fabulist La Fontaine, and the peerless comedy of Moliere, whose works expose the deep undercurrents of human nature. The profound moral earnestness and brilliant irony of Pascal are explored through the lens of the Provincial Letters and the posthumous Thoughts. The collection also examines the celebrated epistolary art of Madame de Sévigne, alongside the elevated tragedies of Corneille and Racine.
The volume extends through the pulpit eloquence of Bossuet, Bourdaloue, and Massillon, culminating in the saintly and poetic genius of Fenelon. Throughout the text, the author maintains that French literature is not merely a literary study, but a faithful reflection of the social, political, and moral history of the nation. The work concludes with helpful bibliographic guidance for readers desiring to push their conversance with French letters even further.
