☙ La Pucelle

1826 - Voltaire

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☙ La Pucelle

✑ Voltaire

LA PUCELLE D'ORLÉANS, POÈME DIVISÉ EN VINGT-UN CHANTS

La Pucelle d'Orléans, a burlesque epic poem in twenty-one cantos composed by Voltaire, represents one of the boldest and most controversial works in 18th-century French literature. Written between 1730 and 1762, this work was only officially published after numerous editorial tribulations, so subversive was its content considered. This 1826 edition, integrated into Voltaire's Complete Works, testifies to the gradual transformation of the author's reception after his death. In this poem, Voltaire subverts with biting irony the story of Joan of Arc, French national heroine, turning it into a fierce satire of religion, monarchy, and the mores of his time. Far from traditional hagiography, Voltaire presents a human, sometimes ridiculous Joan, evolving in a universe populated by libidinous saints, mischievous demons, and fallen epic heroes. The work blends classical references, poetic license, and bawdiness to create a profoundly irreverent text that earned its author virulent criticism and persistent censorship.

Why add it to your collection?

Remarkable edition of Voltaire's most scandalous work, a heroic-comic poem that subverts the myth of Joan of Arc

Part of the prestigious complete edition of Voltaire's Works published in the 1820s, testament to the posthumous rehabilitation of the author

Bold text censored for decades, illustrating Voltairean freedom of thought and irreverence toward religious and political institutions

Exemplary specimen of 19th-century French publishing art, with refined typography characteristic of the Romantic period

Essential piece for any collection devoted to the Enlightenment, libertine literature, or Voltaire's editorial history

Description

Historical Context and Genesis of the Work

La Pucelle d'Orléans occupies a singular place in Voltaire's literary production. Begun around 1730, the poem was constantly revised by Voltaire for more than three decades, reflecting the evolution of his philosophical thought and his engagement against religious fanaticism. The work first circulated in the form of clandestine manuscripts, provoking scandals and prosecutions. The first pirated editions, often truncated or modified, appeared against the author's will, who attempted to control the diffusion of this explosive text. It was only in 1762 that an authorized edition was published in Geneva, but the work remained long banned in France.

Characteristics of the 1826 Edition

This 1826 edition is part of the vast editorial project of Voltaire's Complete Works, undertaken in the first decades of the 19th century as the author enjoyed a progressive rehabilitation. Published by the Parisian publishers Werdet and Lequien Fils, it presents refined typography characteristic of the Romantic era, with elegant typefaces and an airy layout. The text is presented in its entirety, without the cuts that earlier editions had sometimes imposed out of prudence or censorship. The volume includes the twenty-one cantos of the poem, as well as the notes and variants that Voltaire himself had added over successive editions.

Content and Literary Structure

La Pucelle presents itself as a parody of the classical epic, subverting the conventions of the genre to serve a sharp social and religious critique. Voltaire recounts the adventures of Joan of Arc in a profoundly irreverent manner, stripping her of her mystical aura to make her a naive peasant manipulated by the powerful. The poem blends erudite references to Greco-Roman mythology, allusions to medieval chivalric epics, and burlesque situations worthy of Italian comedy. Saints, angels, and demons appear in a very human, even all-too-human light, revealing the hypocrisies and absurdities of religious dogmas. This work thus constitutes a manifesto of the Enlightenment spirit, using laughter and derision as weapons against obscurantism.

Importance for Collectors

For bibliophiles and collectors, this 1826 edition represents precious testimony to the complex editorial history of Voltaire's works. It illustrates how the most subversive texts of the Enlightenment progressively found their place in the French literary canon in the 19th century. The exemplar fits within an editorial tradition that sought to present Voltaire's complete work in a systematic and respectful manner, thus contributing to transforming the controversial philosopher into a monument of national literature. La Pucelle remains today a fascinating text, both for its intrinsic literary value and for what it reveals about its author's intellectual audacity.

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