Abstract
Abstract Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century French translations of Thomas More’s Utopia have received recent scholarly attention, as have the considerable number of imitations, borrowings and utopian projects of the eighteenth century in France, but until now very little attention has been paid to the work of Thomas Rousseau (1750–1800), who produced a translation of Utopia in 1780 and republished it with a new title and introduction in December 1789, just five months after the fall of the Bastille and the start of the French Revolution at a time when many felt that the regeneration of the nation was close to being complete. This chapter will explore how Rousseau adapted More’s text to suit better his intended readers in Enlightenment France and how it influenced his other literary and political activities in the years leading up to and during the French Revolution.
Published Version
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