Synopses & Reviews
In 1790, while serving in the Piedmontese army, the French aristocrat Xavier de Maistre (1763-1852) was punished for dueling and placed under house arrest for forty-two days. The result was a discursive, mischievous memoir , and its sequel, . Admired by Nietzsche and Machado de Assis, Ossian and Susan Sontag, this classic book proves that sitting on the living-room sofa can be as fascinating as crossing the Alps or paddling up the Amazon.
Review
"De Maistre pioneered a mode of travel that was to make his name: room travel. Dressed in pink-and-blue pajamas, satisfied within the confines of his own bedroom, Xavier de Maistre was gently nudging us to try, before taking off for distant hemispheres, to notice what we have already seen." Alain De Botton
Review
"The late eighteenth century is when modernity (more exactly, the modernities) began. Sterne, Diderot, Rousseau--among the effortlessly brilliant writers of that incandescent era, there still remains Xavier de Maistre to discover or rediscover. His masterpiece, , is one of the most original and mettlesome autobiographical narratives ever written." Susan Sontag
Review
"Funny and deceptively profound." The Guardian
Synopsis
In addition to the Voyage and Expedition, this edition also includes the dialogue The Leper of the City of Aosta, a preface by Xavier s better-known older brother (the royalist philosopher Joseph de Maistre), and an introduction by Richard Howard.
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About the Author
Xavier de Maistre (1763-1852) was a French military man and writer. He began serving in the army at a young age, and lived primarily in Italy, but eventually moved to St. Petersburg, where he died.An award-winning translator and poet, Stephen Sartarelli lives in France.Richard Howard is a distinguished American, poet, literary critic, essayist, teacher, and translator.Joseph de Maistre was a philosopher, writer, lawyer, and diplomat.