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A Wicked Company: The Forgotten Radicalism of the European Enlightenment

Philipp Blom

4.09 · Rating details · 577 ratings · 71 reviews

The flourishing of radical philosophy in Baron Thierry Holbachâ€™s Paris salon from the 1750s to the 1770s stands as a seminal event in Western history. Holbachâ€™s house was an international epicenter of revolutionary ideas and intellectual daring, bringing together such original minds as Denis Diderot, Laurence Sterne, David Hume, Adam Smith, Ferdinando Galiani, Horace W

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Hardcover, 361 pages

Published November 2nd 2010 by Basic Books (AZ) (first published 2010)

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Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant

Candide and Philosophical Letters by Voltaire

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Nov 23, 2010 Lauren Albert rated it liked it

Shelves: history-intellectual, history-european

I have quite mixed feelings about this book. Right from the Introduction, it is clear that Blom has a hobby horse to ride and it nearly ruins the book. It certainly detracts from it as I would have given it four stars otherwise. Thankfully, he gets off the horse periodically and gives the reader some excellent intellectual history with very clear expositions of different thinkers' philosophies and comparisons between them.

The weird thing is that his dislike of Voltaire and Rousseau (his hobby h ...more

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Jul 21, 2011 Chaz rated it really liked it

Shelves: european-history

At times repetitive, this book by Austrian social historian Phillip Blom is nevertheless a terrific read. Other times it is seasoned with delicious gossip of these European luminaries, les philosphes, of the 18 Century. Above all it is a necessary read for those who would prefer to live in a country that wishes to keep the wall up between secular government and organized religion. Forgive my unmentionably irritating pun, but this is sacred to me: we musn't go back to the age when people were at At times repetitive, this book by Austrian social historian Phillip Blom is nevertheless a terrific read. Other times it is seasoned with delicious gossip of these European luminaries, les philosphes, of the 18 Century. Above all it is a necessary read for those who would prefer to live in a country that wishes to keep the wall up between secular government and organized religion. Forgive my unmentionably irritating pun, but this is sacred to me: we musn't go back to the age when people were at best exiled for their religious beliefs, or none thereof and at worst burnt at the stake. Many, many in this country, this fruit of the Enlightenment would have us recognize a state religion.

There are few things that I would die for, but I would lay my life down to keep my country from adopting a state religion.

Also wonderful feminist beginnings, murmurs of what would become the glorious liberation of half of Humanity in the West--which we are still trying to achieve --where first tolled among the salons of Baron de Holbach and Denis Diderot. Detailed examination on the "Encyclopedie" and it glorious restructuring of human knowledge where scholasticism was dealt its first mortal blow--may we be forever saved from its belief-based hierarchy of learning, its cant and its superstition. The Rights of Man were openly discussed in the Paris salons of the 1740' - 1760's and penny (or more rightly, "sou") pamphlets were published and sold days later in the black market. They were vastly popular in Paris, but as Diderot is famous to have said: "the Enlightenment ends at the suburbs". However these would become precursors to our own sentiments on the subject: the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, borrowed from John Locke and Montaigne and facilitated, made popular by the "Philosophes" ...in many ways these men and women are very familiar to us, though gloriously prophetic and far-sighted.

At a time when culture is beginning to go backwards to a time of willful, stupidity and ignorance in the guise of fundamentalism and evangelism (in the United States, above all) this is wonderfully assuring reading. We may never go back; perhaps these wonderful men and women may have helped imprint the notions of human rights irrevocably deep into our DNA--we can only hope; for those who would rather: we can also only "pray", each according to his/her own conscience.

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Feb 25, 2013 Miranda Ruth rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-want

A terrific read, erudite and witty, this packs an impressive amount of information, much of it quite abstract, into a fast-moving and absorbing narrative. Blom concentrates on the Paris salon of Baron d'Holbach, which dominated philosophical and political discourse in Europe, and arguably the world, in the mid-18C. The Baron and Diderot are at the centre of events, but there is an impressive cast of intellectual worthies including Hume and Rousseau, stretching even as far as the nascent USA.

Blom ...more

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Jul 23, 2013 Talj rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Recommends it for: No one.

Highly disappointed with this book. I picked up this book with the hopes that it might give me some new insight for a paper I'm working on (The Enlightenment's role in church/state affairs) as well as an entertaining read.
I could not get past the introduction. About half way through I was getting pretty fed up. I'm not expert on this particular century, but the number of mistakes I picked out were embarrassing. I figured, though, hey! It's just an intro, right? Surely it will get better! Wrong. ...more

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Oct 31, 2010 John David rated it liked it

Shelves: modern-history

This is an interesting book that provides some little-known connections between the larger-known set of ideas that we largely recognize as the “Enlightenment,” and is especially aimed at the general reader. Those whose knowledge of the intellectual side of the Enlightenment is moderate to extensive will gain little from the book, but it was still interesting to learn about some of the private lives, loves, and feuds of the people involved therein.

Blom’s ultimate emphasis here is on the so-called This is an interesting book that provides some little-known connections between the larger-known set of ideas that we largely recognize as the “Enlightenment,” and is especially aimed at the general reader. Those whose knowledge of the intellectual side of the Enlightenment is moderate to extensive will gain little from the book, but it was still interesting to learn about some of the private lives, loves, and feuds of the people involved therein.

Blom’s ultimate emphasis here is on the so-called “radical” Enlightenment, as opposed to the moderate Enlightenment of thinkers like Voltaire. The latter still flirted with the political status quo and entertained deism. After all, Voltaire made his fortune by loaning vast sums of money to European monarchs; it’s difficult to rock the boat of ideas when your financial security depends on it. Those of the radical Enlightenment were not afraid to take reason, science, and materialism to its ultimate limits: there are many of them, but the major figures include Baron Holbach, Diderot, d’Alembert, Buffon, Grimm, and Hume. One figure he decidedly excludes from his radical favorites is Jean-Jacques Rousseau, choosing to portray him, rightly or wrongly, as a paranoid megalomanic.

After giving some initial biographical information of the characters that loom the largest in the book – Diderot, Holbach, and Rousseau – we proceed to learn more about their thought and their circle of what are usually considered more minor friends. Blom intermittently keeps referring back to Holbach’s twice-weekly dinners that would often be attended some of the greatest minds in Europe. At the table at Grandval, chez Holbach, they would sit down to delectable poulets a la Reine, cold pate, and raspberry gelee (they actually give a menu from one of the gatherings in the book) and talk about the philosophy, religion (largely their intense dislike thereof), and groundbreaking science. I thought the conceit of a big dinner party was an interesting one to tell what amounts to a group biography, and certainly helped keep things both entertaining and engaging.

Not only are the lives and ideas of the current characters discussed in context, but Blom also takes the time to discuss those people that influenced their thought, some of which I only now realized I had not fully fleshed out before. He has a very interesting chapter on Spinozist monism versus Cartesian dualism, and how that argument reverberated through the eighteenth century; later in the book, he discusses how through their thorough familiarity with the classics, Lucretius’ “De Rerum Natura” and the Greek atomists Democritus and Leucippus might have been influential in a revival of materialism, too. For the first two-thirds of the book, Blom lets his sizeable bias against Rousseau get in the way of an otherwise much more objective piece of intellectual history. Because of the general nature of the book and the heavy bias toward Rousseau, I can’t in all fairness give this book more than 3 stars. For a more sophisticated and nuanced treatment of the Enlightenment, I suggest Peter Gay’s two-volume treatment, “The Rise of Modern Paganism” and “The Science of Freedom.” The first two volumes of Jonathan Israel’s trilogy, Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity, 1650-1750 and Enlightenment Contested: Philosophy, Modernity, and the Emancipation of Man 1670-1752 are equally wonderful.
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May 24, 2013 Ann Talbot rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: students and general readers

Shelves: history-of-ideas, history, philosophy

Books about the Baron d’Holbach are a rarity. Why this should be the case is the subject of Philipp Blom’s book. Blom believes that Holbach has been unjustly neglected and relegated to the footnotes of history because his materialism and atheism are rejected today.
A Wicked Company is an attempt to portray Holbach and the circle that gathered around him. The title comes from a remark by the actor David Garrick who was a frequent visitor to Holbach’s house. Blom sets out the problem at the beginni Books about the Baron d’Holbach are a rarity. Why this should be the case is the subject of Philipp Blom’s book. Blom believes that Holbach has been unjustly neglected and relegated to the footnotes of history because his materialism and atheism are rejected today.
A Wicked Company is an attempt to portray Holbach and the circle that gathered around him. The title comes from a remark by the actor David Garrick who was a frequent visitor to Holbach’s house. Blom sets out the problem at the beginning of the book.
“Holbach was not only host to some of the most brilliant minds of the century but also an important philosophical writer in his own right, author of the first uncompromisingly atheist books published since antiquity. His work is ignored … His own philosophy – so fresh, so humane, so liberating – does not even appear in many histories of philosophy. His message was too disquieting, too anarchic, too dangerous to be released into the world at large.”
In attempting to trace the development of materialist ideas in the eighteenth century Blom is performing a useful service to the reading public. Materialism is supported by more scientific evidence than ever but it is widely disparaged and regarded as a dangerous doctrine. His well written and accessible book will bring Holbach’s circle to life for many readers.
Holbach was born Paul Heinrich Dietrich, in the town of Edesheim in the Rhenish Palatinate in 1723, the son of a wine-grower. He was adopted by a wealthy uncle who had bought his title of baron from the imperial court of Vienna. His uncle provided him with his name and the best education money could buy. Holbach enrolled at the University of Leiden in 1744 where he became a friend of John Wilkes, who went on to become a notorious English radical. The two remained friends until Holbach’s death in 1789. Holbach married and settled in Paris, holding his salons from 1750 to the late 1770s. Apart from a brief stay in England and a tour of the South of France after his first wife died, this was where he remained, except for the summers, which he spent at Château Grandval at Sucy en Brie, now in the south eastern suburbs of Paris. Many of Diderot’s letters were written from this summer retreat.
Diderot got to know Holbach after he was released from prison for writing his Letter on the Blind. Rousseau, who frequently visited Diderot while he was in prison, may already have known Holbach. Diderot was about to bring out the first volume of the Encyclopédie when he was arrested. Its publication in 1751 made the previously obscure writer widely known. The second volume in 1752 contains a number of articles by Holbach, he would eventually write more than 300, and the title page pays tribute to an unnamed person who is almost certainly Holbach.
“We particularly are indebted to one person,” the editors wrote, “whose mother tongue is German, and who is very well versed in the matters of mineralogy, metallurgy and physics; he has given us a prodigious amount of articles on different subjects, of which already a considerable number is included in this volume.”
The Encyclopédie was originally planned as a translation of Chambers’s Cyclopaedia, but in Diderot’s hands it evolved into a far more ambitious work which would be lavishly illustrated and would aim to do nothing less than systematise all available knowledge. Even the form of the book would be revolutionary since its entries were arranged alphabetically giving no precedence to subjects such as theology, church history or social ranks. The Encyclopédie was in itself a testament to the principle of equality.
The Dictionnaire of Pierre Bayle provided a model for Diderot’s project and a method of defeating the censors by seeming to present simple, straightforward, strictly factual information while allowing the readers to draw their own conclusions from the material that was presented to them. Bayle’s Dictionnaire was the main conduit through which the ideas of modern materialists like Spinoza and Hobbes and ancient materialists such as Epicurus reached the reading public of eighteenth century France.
Diderot would spend most of his working life editing the Encyclopédie and it would become, as Blum writes, “a battering ram, shaking the foundations of the age.” By 1765 it would run to 17 volumes containing 20 million words and 1,900 illustrations. In 1759 the government revoked its license, but the book continued to be produced illegally. Some 4,000 complete sets were sold despite the fact that it cost the equivalent of a year’s wages for a master craftsman.
Blom connects the Encyclopédie to the discussions that went on at Holbach’s house. “At its very best,” writes Blom, “it afforded the reader a seat at Holbach’s table, allowing him to listen to the flow of argument and the sheer exhilaration of ideas out of the mouths of some of the greatest intellects of the age.” The house became a magnet for foreign visitors, but they were often startled by the range of subjects that could be discussed there and the openness with which ideas that would normally be forbidden were openly expressed.
While the encyclopedists remained a diverse group, not all of them attended Holbach’s salons and nor were they all atheists or materialists, the influence of Holbach and the protection his house offered was certainly important in maintaining the Encyclopédie’s production. His salon had a distinct collective identity and Holbach’s guests often spoke of themselves as a group. Diderot referred to Holbach’s house as the boulangerie partly in reference to the pseudonym that Holbach adopted – Boulanger – and partly, no doubt because of the work that went on there. The word conjured up the image of a busy workshop, Blom writes, “constantly mixing and kneading, and pulling dangerous books out of the oven as if they were so many hot baguettes.”
Behind the respectable façade that Holbach himself maintained, Blom writes, he “funded and ran a clandestine publishing operation from his own house, a center of intellectual resistance.” His house served as “a meeting place as well as an unofficial translation agency and publishing house of subversive ideas.”
Those subversive ideas were central to the Enlightenment and Blom shows that Holbach and the group that gathered around him played a critical role in this movement. “Nowhere was the Enlightenment battle cry ‘Sapere aude!’ [dare to know] taken more seriously and acted upon more decisively than by Diderot and Holbach, and their friends, who published, translated, wrote, and transcribed a library of intellectually audacious books while at the same time pushing forward the Encyclopédie, the most distinguished and most significant encyclopedia project in history.”
Blom is conscious that the influence of postmodernism and the various forms of poststructuralism have played a part in devaluing the Enlightenment and Holbach’s role in it. “In an academic world in the thrall of postmodern and poststructuralist literary theory,” he writes, “there was no room for the works of a plainspoken philosopher whose greatest goal had been to make himself absolutely clear.”
This is an important point, but, in his eagerness to defend Holbach, Blom makes a hefty concession to the very intellectual tendencies he is trying to resist. He distinguishes between a moderate deist Enlightenment and a radical Enlightenment. This is very much in line with the work of Professor Jonathan Israel, who has done much to revive interest in the materialist and atheistic currents of thought in the Enlightenment. Blom argues that the moderate deist Enlightenment had a tendency to “dehumanize” and to create “a world dominated by the inexorable progress of the clock and the needs of machines and factories, stock markets and corporations – the nightmare factory world of Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times.” But he wants to rescue the radical Enlightenment of Diderot and Holbach from that charge.
Rousseau was a deist who rejected materialism and atheism. For Blom this puts him squarely in the moderate Enlightenment camp. What is more he was the favourite philosopher of Maximilien Robespierre and this, for Blom, ties him to the revolutionary terror and to all forms of totalitarianism in the twentieth century. “Rousseau,” Blom writes, “was a direct inspiration not only for Robespierre but also for Lenin and Pol Pot.”
Blom is not alone in this estimation of Rousseau. Portraying Rousseau as a totalitarian has a long history. The philosopher Bertrand Russell went so far as to proclaim “Hitler is a consequence of Rousseau.” The identification of Rousseau with tyranny can be traced back to Hippolyte Taine in the later nineteenth century when France rejected its revolutionary past. It became more prevalent in liberal circles following the Russian Revolution when Rousseau was seen as an inspiration for Bolshevism. Karl Popper includes Rousseau among the enemies of the open society and in the post-war period both Hannah Arendt and Herbert Marcuse were to expand on this theme. Arendt maintained that Rousseau’s concept of the general will allowed the plurality of views that exist within society to be collapsed into one will - that of a dictator. Jacob Talmon identified Rousseau’s concept of the general will; as “the driving force of totalitarian democracy” [J.L. Talmon, The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy, New York: Norton, 1970, p. 6] of which Marxism was one variant and fascism another. The general will, Talmon maintained, was a “blank cheque to act on behalf of the people, without reference to the people’s actual will” [Talmon, 1970, p. 48].
The view that Rousseau was the originator of totalitarianism is entirely unhistorical. His ideas have to be set in the context of his writings as a whole and of the times in which he lived. In the context of ancien regime Europe Rousseau’s concept of the general will had an entirely revolutionary significance. The absolute monarchies of early modern Europe were legitimised by the Church but the general will was a secular concept that ran entirely counter to official politics. Rousseau systematically dismantled the theological framework that had been built up over centuries to maintain the power of kings and the sanctity of property.
Rousseau was not, like Diderot and Holbach, an atheist or materialist, but that did not save him from condemnation. His books were burned and banned because he was the philosopher of social equality in an epoch of gross inequality. That alone would qualify him as a revolutionary thinker. He opened his Social Contract with the words “Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains.” As Ernst Cassirer observed “a truly revolutionary impetus emanated from him” because he sought no compromise with the existing society [Ernst Cassirer, The Question of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1963, p. 69]. The tragedy of Rousseau, and ultimately of the French Revolution, was that the most advanced thinkers which the Enlightenment produced could not, by sheer force of intellect, discover a means of ensuring equality among the citizens of the First Republic.
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Oct 11, 2020 Marc rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is a profoundly atheist book and rightly so. I was blown away by this paragraph in the introduction:

"When we look into the future, we instinctively fear the Apocalypse and
or purgatory. Next to the beatific vision of a perfect
market, a science-fiction future without wars and energy problems, a perfect
Socialist society, or whatever other dreams we happen to subscribe to is the
looming prospect of an overheating planet, a nuclear World War Three, col-
lapsing ecosystems, wars about water an ...more

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Feb 01, 2019 Dave rated it liked it

I should probably start off by admitting that I didn't read this very carefully. Usually if I get through more than a few pages of something I force myself to read all of it but I had just read this guy's other book on the Enlightenment and found so much overlap between the two that I didn't see the point. I read the first 20 or 30 pages and every word of the last 3 or 4 chapters but basically just skimmed through the rest. Like his other one (Enlightening the World) this is very Diderot focused ...more

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Nov 05, 2015 Al Bità rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

In Western culture, the late 17th and most of the 18th century is known as The Enlightenment — a European intellectual movement where reason was placed on centre stage and used as the basis for submitting all traditional values into question. The philosophical movement stressed the importance of reason and the critical re-appraisal of existing ideas and social institutions. Blom’s work concentrates on the twenty-year period from the 1750s to the 1770s, and specifically on the Paris salon of Baro ...more

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Oct 02, 2017 Christopherseelie rated it really liked it

This is an interesting interpretation of the radical enlightenment within Pre-Revolutionary French society. I assume Philipp Blom used Holbach's dinner table as an organizing principle to talk about dispirit characters related to a movement that was more in debate with itself than affecting an agenda on society. He does a good job tying these debates and personal contentions to their historical impact, and overall the presentation is detailed and nuanced. I was moved to consider the unintentiona ...more

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Sep 30, 2019 Chris Miller rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history, biography

This book goes shows the politics and personalities that went into keeping the enlightenment acceptable for the masses. The radicals of the title are men like Baron Holbach and Denis Diderot who projected a more rational view of society, religion, and power, and how, as outliers they were tremendously important in their time (mid- to late-eighteenth century), and how, with the coming of the French Revolution they were conveniently forgotten for the likes of, get along, go along, Rousseau and Vol ...more

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Aug 09, 2018 Norman S rated it it was amazing

Really enjoyed this book, the author does protest too much about Rousseau, but still a great read. I actually enjoyed the concept of the salon, and found tantalizing parallels with Capponi's An Unlikely Prince and Machiavelli's attendance at Florentine salons much earlier. Ok, off to find some socio-cultural intellectual histories of the concept of the European salon in philosophical thought from 1500 BCE to the current day. Or perhaps I need to find a salon dedicated to that discussion thread i ...more

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Nov 03, 2018 Sasstronaut rated it liked it

While I very much enjoyed the subject matter and contextual, formative placement of the philosophes, I did find this a chore to read through starting about halfway.

Repetitive writing, jumping timelines, and rambling points made this less enjoyable. I also thought I was getting a more objective viewpoint of the main characters here, but that’s clearly not the case pretty soon.

I did like the extra information regarding their lives, how they changed, and the reflectivity of viewing their lives th ...more

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Jan 20, 2019 Conrad Leibel rated it it was amazing

I loved this book! The author is clearly receptive to critiques of enlightenment and the cult of the supreme being reason of Catholic robespierre. Nuanced and wonderfully written. The author's excitement for these thinkers comes across to the readers and somehow i am now terribly excited to read Hume's Treatise

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Dec 16, 2019 Matthias Vandermaesen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

When you think about 18th century philosophers, you may envision them as either boring, dry academics or as a bunch of haphazard, wealthy writers who's ideas somehow went on to establish modern notions about democracy, human rights and religion. Neither is quite the entire picture.

Philipp Blom turns Diderot, Voltaire, Rousseau and others into... early modern activists.

By the end of this book, I got quite convinced that these people would have drooled over digital media such as Twitter or blogs.

B ...more

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May 11, 2013 Anna rated it liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, history, enlightenment

I wanted to read this book as my knowledge of the Enlightenment was sketchy (it still is, to be fair). All I knew had been gleaned from references in books about the French Revolution, as well as Foucault’s thoughts on it from Lectures at the College de France, 1975-76: Society Must Be Defended. ‘Wicked Company’ is by no means an introductory book on the Enlightenment, indeed after reading I still couldn’t give you a coherent definition of what the Enlightenment was. It is a book on personalitie I wanted to read this book as my knowledge of the Enlightenment was sketchy (it still is, to be fair). All I knew had been gleaned from references in books about the French Revolution, as well as Foucault’s thoughts on it from Lectures at the College de France, 1975-76: Society Must Be Defended. ‘Wicked Company’ is by no means an introductory book on the Enlightenment, indeed after reading I still couldn’t give you a coherent definition of what the Enlightenment was. It is a book on personalities, not socio-political trends. From the outset, Blom points out that he is writing with an agenda - to rehabilitate Baron d’Holbach and, to a lesser extent, Diderot as key thinkers of the time. I had never heard of Holbach, who held the influential salons attended by Diderot and company. In addition Holbach also published some radical works of his own, although these have apparently tended to lack popularity since. By contrast, Blom’s comments on Rousseau and Voltaire range from gently dismissive to openly hostile. Those two names are probably most often associated with the Enlightenment, at least in the references I’ve seen. This stated partiality initially concerned me, but did not reduce my enjoyment of the book overall. In retrospect, it is refreshing to find a historical author admitting up front who he/she likes best. (Should that be ‘whom he/she likes best’? Is ‘whom’ still used at all, or is that Enlightenment-era grammar influencing me?)

‘Wicked Company’ is certainly enjoyable, although I felt that very similar points concerning the philosophical differences between Holbach, Diderot, and Rousseau were picked over repeatedly. The most powerful message that comes across about Holbach’s circle is their staunch atheism. This is explained clearly and at length, in a highly sympathetic and appealing style. The extent of censorship and suppression that the circle worked under is also effectively conveyed. The book has a broadly but not exclusively chronological structure and a series of rather whimsical chapter titles. It thus appears to be quite a personal work - which isn’t a criticism, as it frustrates me when writers in the humanities cloak their opinions in protestations of objectivity. Rousseau certainly does not come out of it well, which encourages me to read his Confessions as I’ve been meaning to for ages.

Although ‘Wicked Company’ is strong and evidently well-researched as an account of Holbach’s salon and the philosophical lives of its contributors, it is much weaker on the relation of the Enlightenment to the French Revolution. Admittedly, this is not meant to be the central topic of the book. Nonetheless, I found the epilogue ‘A Stolen Revolution’ rather unsatisfactory. For one thing, it unequivocally demonised Robespierre, who I have a fascination with. Characterising him as a dictator solely responsible for the Terror is unsatisfactorily simplistic. His use of Rousseau for inspiration likewise - Robespierre’s views cannot be equated with Rousseau’s work. I would also have appreciated a little more nuance in the relationship between Enlightenment thought and the anti-clerical slant of the Revolution. I get the sense that the links between the Enlightenment and the Revolution are complex and ambivalent, probably not ideally suited to a short summary chapter such as this. From Blom’s earlier chapters, it seems to me that Holbach and Diderot would have greatly appreciated parts of the Revolution. Conversely, Rousseau would surely have strongly objected to much of it - not least its resolutely urban focus, which does not fit with his canonisation of rural life.

Speculation aside, what I can say for sure is this book is very thought-provoking and piqued my curiosity regarding the Enlightenment and its thinkers. It starts slowly but fully held my interest to the end. ...more

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Nov 20, 2014 Jesse Field rated it really liked it

The French radical Enlightenment, centered on Denis Diderot and his friends, especially Baron Paul Thiry d’Holbach (1723-1789) (and with a great subplot about David Hume), from a historian's point of view. Veering from lush biography to discussions on the ideas of humaneness, psychology, equality, freedom of thought, resistance to authoritarianism, and atheism, this book is an inspiring and involving discussion. It aims to revivify Diderot and his circle from obscurity, while at the same time ha ...more

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Sep 12, 2011 Ed Holden rated it it was amazing

This book is a spectacular introduction to some of the major personalities of an era that gave birth not only to the French and American Revolutions, but also to most of modern science and philosophy. Before reading it I didn't know much about the eighteenth century Enlightenment from a French perspective, but some of the central denizens of the French Enlightenment were extremely radical for their time, and risked being exiled, imprisoned, or even executed by the church/aristocracy complex for ...more

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Nov 11, 2010 Bruce rated it liked it

The author interweaves biographical snippets of various "radical" Enlightenment figures, primarily Diderot and Holbach, with broad brush, painless descriptions of their philosophies. The result is reasonably interesting - this was a time of great intellectual ferment, and the focus on this fringe element as well as the sometimes gossipy factual background of the protagonists adds perspective to (and partially upends?) the textbook view of this period (to the extent I remember it). However, these ...more

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Feb 17, 2013 Rachel rated it really liked it

An interesting look at the Enlightenment and the radicalism underlying the ideas of Diderot, d'Hollbach, Voltaire and crew. Engaging for non-fiction, It read like a story, with each chapter focusing on a different philosophe or event, but while retaining a common thread throughout. I think this is an especially important book for those prone to misinterpreting the Enlightenment and its aftermath, as it clearly differentiates Diderot/d'Hollbach/Voltaire/etc from the ideas of Rousseau, whose ideas ...more

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Aug 04, 2011 Elliot Schnapp rated it really liked it

Denis Diderot was one of my heroes since reading "La Religieuse" ("The Nun") in High School French class (the novel depicts a convent which is presided over by a sadistic lesbian). Blom's book celebrates the "Radical Enlightenment" centered around Diderot and Baron D'Holbach. Great cast of characters, excellent capsule summaries of their philosophical outlooks and the debates among them (although the sledding here sometimes gets a little heavy). I especially enjoyed Blom's skewering of Jean Jacq ...more

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Jun 20, 2012 Ben rated it liked it

Ultimately, I wasn't crazy about this. I like reading about the Enlightenment as much as anyone, particularly the aspect of it that criticizes/ mocks religious faith, but I'm just not sure Blom is that great of a writer or storyteller. There isn't too much in here that can't be found better in other recently published books. His enthusiasm and passion for his subject can be contagious, particularly his delight at the possibility of an undocumented meeting(s) between Franklin and Diderot during F ...more

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Jan 03, 2011 Daniel Kukwa rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

A very out of the blue look at the Enlightenment that takes everything I've been taught so far and turns it on his head. It's dense reading...and I'm not sure I always agree with the author's thesis...but it IS nevertheless very compelling.

I appreciate how this new look at the Englightenment compares to the radicals of thought in our current day and age, especially men such as Christopher Hittchens and Richard Dawkins. Agree or disagree, it will leave you with much to contemplate after the fact. ...more

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Apr 07, 2011 Paul Heidebrecht rated it really liked it

Superb account of radical French Enlightenment intellectuals, Diderot and d'Holbach, whom the author believes history has forgotten, partly because they were bold enough to be atheists.I found the account of their lives and those in their Paris circle engaging and saddening. Ellul's observation that when one rejects religion and God, one cannot help erecting another religion and god to take their place, is perfectly illustrated in this story. I wish books like this were around when I was a philo ...more

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Sep 22, 2011 Steve rated it liked it

There's some valuable stuff in here, but it feels kind of muddled, since it's such a mix between the intellectual history and the personal stuff. It wasn't clear to me whether I should view it as a.) the story of how Holbach, Diderot, Rousseau and others came to view, argue, and propagate their ideas, with the personal stuff there to flesh out the story or b.) the personal saga of Diderot and the others with the ideas in question as just one component. I felt like maybe it was supposed to be the ...more

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Aug 26, 2014 Gert de Cooman rated it it was amazing

It is clear from the outset whom the author likes and dislikes, and whom he wants us to like. But the book strikes a chord, and confirms my biased opinion that the radical, atheistic, hedonistic Enlightenment thought with its emphasis on the individual in a social context, going back to Epicurus, and influencing amongst others Nietzsche, Shelley, and dare I even suggest it, Dawkins, is a much better guide for today than the soft, watered down and much better known version with its deistic emphas ...more

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Mar 20, 2011 Bruce rated it it was amazing

This was a really compelling read for a social history. It gives you a sense of what the French Enlightenment was really about and who the major players were, and makes a compelling case that those players were not who we are traditionally taught they were. Specifically, Blom argues that the greatest champions of reason in this era were d'Holbach and Diderot, while it's fiercest enemy was Rousseau. I highly recommend it.

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Oct 06, 2011 Bob Haberski rated it it was amazing

Brilliant and readable. Highlights two Enlightenment thinkers who have been somewhat shunted aside by history for their radicalism, Diderot and Holbach. Also provides fascinating background on the reputations of Rousseau, Voltaire, Spinoza and others. I definitely did not know enough about this sector of the 18th century and was enthralled by the philosophical arguments that are so vividly catalogued here.

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Sep 17, 2016 Sarah Bierle rated it it was ok

Shelves: revolution-empire-allies

A non-fiction history book about the shocking radicalism and atheism of the Enlightenment Era. Focusing on the lives of Holbach, Diderot, and their philosopher friends and enemies, this account unveils the struggles of thinkers who wanted to create a world without God.

A must-read for historians seeking to understand the underlying philosophies of the French Revolution and 20th Century philosophy.

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Apr 05, 2011 !Tæmbuŝu marked it as to-read

Shelves: history, france

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About Philipp Blom

Philipp Blom

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Philipp Blom is a German novelist who currently lives and works in Vienna, Austria. He is best known for his novel, The Simmons Papers (1995). His 2007 novel, Luxor has not yet been translated into English. He is a professional historian who studied at Vienna and Oxford with a focus on eighteenth-century intellectual history. His academic works include: To Have and to Hold: An Intimate History of ...more

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“They could simply not accept that there might be no God, precisely because that would mean that life was not inherently meaningful. In their heart of hearts they were unwilling to confront the possibility that they themselves, the vast universe of every individual consciousness, could be as meaningless and as random as a leaf whirled into the air by a gust of wind. The” — 1 likes

“any attachment bears within it the tragedy of loss.” — 0 likes

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