French Literature Reviews - 2026

B. Melançon, Nos Lumières. Les classiques au jour le jour
History, Politics and Society

Melançon, Benoît,

Nos Lumières. Les classiques au jour le jour,

Montreal, Del Busso éditeur, 2020, 194 p.

ISBN: 9782924719893. ($24.95)

Do you remember a reference to Candide in Mad Men? What is said about Madame de Staël in The Sopranos? What do Chuck Norris, Mike Tyson, and Bill Lee have in common? Despite appearances, is Rousseau a more important author than Voltaire in contemporary Quebec? Why should Donald Trump read the Encyclopédie? What should we make of contemporary stagings of 18th-century plays?

Drawing on often surprising examples, Benoît Melançon demonstrates that, contrary to popular belief, the Age of Enlightenment is still very much alive.

An eighteenth-century scholar, blogger, professor, and publisher, Benoît Melançon has written several acclaimed books, including Les yeux de Maurice Richard (2006), Le niveau baisse ! (2015), and L’Oreille tendue (2016). In 2012, he received the Georges-Émile-Lapalme Award, the highest distinction for the quality and promotion of the French language awarded by the Government of Quebec.

The survival and reinvention of the Enlightenment in contemporary culture forms a recognized area of study within literary and cultural history, engaging researchers who examine how classical texts circulate across media. Benoît Melançon explores these echoes by juxtaposing eighteenth-century figures and works with modern cultural phenomena, ranging from television series to public figures. This approach aligns with broader scholarly inquiries into the afterlife of classical texts in contemporary life. Readers interested in the persistence of eighteenth-century thought in modern media may find this volume relevant.

Benoît Melançon is an eighteenth-century scholar, blogger, professor, and publisher who has contributed to literary and cultural studies. His previous works include Les yeux de Maurice Richard, Le niveau baisse !, and L’Oreille tendue. In 2012, he received the Georges-Émile-Lapalme Award, the highest distinction for the quality and promotion of the French language awarded by the Government of Quebec. This background informs his exploration of how Enlightenment literature continues to manifest in surprising contemporary contexts.

Read the "Foreword"

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