Paul Feval's Jesuits

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The only one of his Non-Fiction post "Conversion" books to ever have a known English translation. Also probably the only one one during his lifetime that was ever authorized. It contains an introduction by the Translator.

There is an introductory Chapter is which Feval provides some Autobiographical details about his life. So far this is all of the book I've read. But it's hilarious, as though Feval's natural metaficitonal style didn't leave even in his supposedly non-fiction work.

The story were he writes an angry letter to his manager or editor refusing to write a Story about Jesuits as evil villains, and he comes back telling Feval he's a genius and that writing stories the opposite of the popular view is a perfect marketing ploy (completely missing Feval's point) it seems exactly to me like how we today would make fun of Network or Hollywood executives. I could see that whole scene playing out on an Animatiacs sketch. It's hilarious.

I haven't read the entirety of it.  I found this quote from near the end interesting.

“The smallest fault of Voltaire’s posterity is, that

it has never read Voltaire, nor Rousseau, nor any one

else who is worth reading : it reads the daily papers.

Voltaire and Rousseau made the Revolution, I do not

gainsay it, but on the other hand the Revolution

made them, and the obligation was about the same

on both sides, for the Revolution as little knows

what it is doing in worshipping Rousseau and Voltaire,

as Voltaire and Rousseau knew what they were

doing in preparing the Revolution.

Voltaire, not to speak of his fawning, was a most

determined aristocrat, and Rousseau himself was an

eloquent opponent of democracy in great countries.

At the most, he might have tolerated the democratic

republic of Monaco.”

Feval's perspective was interesting.