"Bernardin de St Pierre (1737-1814) was a major figure of the late French Enlightenment. In this first full-length critical biography of the author in English, Malcolm Cook seeks to understand the importance of Bernardin's major works. Drawing heavily on unpublished manuscript material, he provides a fresh account of the writer's significance and status in a period of French history which, during Bernardin's lifetime, saw the transition from monarchy to republic and empire. The book is both a critical account of a major author and a source of new insights into the cultural revolution taking place around him."
