‘La Decouverte de l'Ile Frivole’ by Gabriel-Francois Coyer

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La Decouverte de l'ile Frivole (1751) is presented as a supplement to George Anson’s Voyage Round the World, and recounts the adventures of the English admiral and his crew on a strange island whose inhabitants, the Frivolians, are devoted to fashion, hairstyles, novels, and fancy desserts. This tale is at once both playful and cynical and its biting irony spares neither the reputation of France nor that of England. It resonates with the most critical attacks by Jean-Jacques Rousseau against luxury and refinement, or those of Voltaire against his compatriots.

This volume provides the first bilingual critical edition of a text that, in its time, caused a stir both in France and in England.