Notes

At the heart of this extraordinary achievement is a superb new translation by Kate E. Tunstall and Caroline Warman that catches on the wing, as it were, Diderot’s flights of fancy, using a new kind of verbal rhythm. Instead of seeming glued to the page, this Nephew is encouraged to take convincing three-dimensional form, owning a fuller and more modern-sounding personality in English than he has hitherto been accorded. This is certainly apt, the translation showing how Diderot’s fusion of philosophy, pantomime, and plaidoyer sits ever more comfortably in a twenty-first century context. There is much elegance: great care was taken regarding layout, pages lightened by subtle spacing between certain paragraphs; notes are at the end, encouraging attention to be given to the ebb and flow of the conversation . . . All these benefits are available free of any charge or obligation to purchase, since Open Book Publishers make a complete facsimile of the book available to any reader who can access the relevant website. The guiding principle is collaboration.

—Professor David Charlton, French Studies, 69/2 (2015).