'La Découverte de l'Île Frivole' by Gabriel-François Coyer

<p><em>La Découverte de l'île Frivole</em> (1751) is presented as a supplement to George Anson's <em>Voyage Round the World</em> 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.</p><p><br></p><p>This volume provides the first bilingual critical edition of a text that in its time caused a stir both in France and in England.</p>