A treatment of Montesquieu's "Persian Letters", which argues that the novel is a philosophic critique of despotism in all its forms: domestic, political and religious. It shows that Montesquieu believed that the Enlightenment failed as a philosophy by not recognising man as an erotic being.

Review

It is no small compliment to say that Diana Schaub's study is worthy of its engrossing subject. With her guidance-deft, nuanced, and sometimes bold-we join Montesquieu on a wondrous journey of self-discovery. It is a memorable trip. (Lerner, Ralph )

In an elegant work Diana Schaub claims the ^RPersian Letters^I for political philosophy and connects it to liberalism today. With many revelations she brings to light the little games that Montesquieu plays with his readers, and she brings to life the matters of love that formal liberalism ignores. The book is no less delightful than serious. (Mansfield, Harvey C. )

A brief review cannot do justice to the wealth and subtlety of Schaub's detailed analyses of the novel . . . By being attentive to the literary form that Montesquieus chose to investigate sexual politics, Schaub has succeeded in reinstating the two Montesquieus, the novelist and the political philosopher. (Janie Vanpee )

Schaub offers scholars a new reading of Montesquieu's ^RPersian Letters^I....Her interpretations are persuasively defended. (Choice )