A Visit From Voltaire

Nominated for the UK's Orange/Baileys Prize for Fiction, the comic novel "A Visit From Voltaire" brings the incorrigible 18th-century troublemaker back to life as he haunts the Swiss farmhouse of a newly-arrived American and her family. Over the course of a lonely winter, a hilariously reincarnated Voltaire evolves from the Houseguest-from-Hell into the narrator's wisest friend, teaching her how to live life to the fullest.
Funny, original and appealing to all ages, including students of French language or history, this is history literally brought to life, complete with wig, kneebreeches and a coffee addiction. Voted second "Must Read" by UK library borrowers, after the winner, Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong, and ahead of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, The Lovely Bones, the Bookseller of Kabul, My Sister's Keeper and the Sharpe books of Bernard Cornwell on World Book Day April 2005"In the tradition of the best self-help novels, Voltaire teaches her how to live a happy and full life, " Nicholas Cronk, "The Cambridge Guide to Voltaire, March 2009.""Definitely my book of the year." Irene Double, librarian for Bradford Libraries, UK, "Shelf Life"