After a period of forced exile and solitary wandering brought about by his radic
al views on religion and politics, Jean-Jacques Rousseau returned to Paris in 17
70. Here, in the last two years of his life, he wrote his final work, "The Rever
ies." In this eloquent masterpiece the great political thinker describes his sen
se of isolation from a society he felt had rejected his writings - and the manne
r in which he has come to terms with his alienation, as he walks around Paris, g
azing at plants, day-dreaming and finding comfort in the virtues of solitude and
the natural world. Meditative, amusing and lyrical, this is a fascinating explo
ration of Rousseau's thought as he looks back over his life, searching to justif
y his actions, to defend himself against his critics and to elaborate upon his p
hilosophy.
