philosopher John Locke, scientist Sir Isaac Newton, and fellow writers Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift. Despite foreign influence, Voltaire maintained vestiges of French intellectual thought. In describing this synthesis of ideas, Redman (1977) writes, " . . . Voltaire drank deep from two springs: from English freethinkers and scientific investigators, and from French sources that were similarly congenial to his intellect and temperament" (p. 14).
Voltaire returned to France from exile in 1729. Shortly thereafter, he published one of his most important historical works, History of Charles XII (1731). [The other prominent full-dress histories that Voltaire produced during his lifetime were Siecle de Louis XIV (1751) and Essai sur les Moeurs et l'sprit des Nations (1756).] The unmitigated English influence of some of Voltaire's literary works written after his exile was considered an affront to French customs and institutions. Under pressure from French authorities, Voltaire fled Paris for the French countryside.
Voltaire's sojourn with his mistress the Marquise du Chatelet in her chateau at Cirey in Lorraine marks another distinctive period of
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