One of Rousseau’s later and most puzzling works and never before available in English, this neglected autobiographical piece was the product of the philosopher’s old age and sense of persecution. Long viewed simply as evidence of his growing paranoia, it consists of three dialogues between a character named Rousseau and one identified only as Frenchman who discuss the bad reputation and works of an author named Jean-Jacques. Dialogues offers a fascinating retrospective of his literary career.