Method and Variation

'French philosophical and scientific writers of the early modern period made various use of forms of narrative - language that aims to tell a story - in their texts. Equally, authors of fiction often sought to appropriate the language and tools of philosophical and scientific investigation. The contributions in this collection, from some of the most distinguished and exciting scholars working in French Studies today, aim to bring into question oppositional relationships between terms such as 'philosophy' and 'fiction' when these are applied to early modern texts. They consider authors as diverse as Montaigne, Descartes, La Rochefoucauld, Mme de Villedieu and Mme de Lafayette. If we are to be true to the early modern period, they argue, we have to acknowledge it as a time when the figurative, anecdotal and fictive on the one hand, and the truth-seeking on the other, influence each other mutually. Emma Gilby is University Lecturer in French, University of Cambridge. Paul White is Research Associate in French, University of Cambridge.'