Rousseau in hiding, joined by his bride-to-be

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, Swiss writer and philosopher (1712-1778). Autograph letter signed (in header, "Renou").

€ 6,500.00

Returning to the continent in spite of his banishment for the publication of 'Émile', Rousseau writes this letter under the pseudonym "Renou". Following a tempestuous sojourn in Britain, the philosopher undertook a clandestine stay in France, moving frequently. In Bourgoin, he was joined by his long-term partner, Thérèse Levasseur (1721-1801), to whom he here refers as "Mad. Renou". The two would marry in Bourgoin in August 1769, around a month after this letter was written.

Writing to the local governor, the Marquis de Beffroi, Rousseau sends excuses for not paying a visit. Referring to himself in the third person, he writes: "Renou n'ose se presenter à Madame la Marquise de Beffroy que Monsieur le Marquis n'ait eu la bonté de faire sa paix avec elle. Il ne voudrait pour rien au monde mériter leur disgrace; mais il espére qu’après qu’il aura eu l’honneur de leur dire ses raisons ils voudront bien lui continuer les mêmes bontés dont ils l’ont honoré, et qu’il ne perdra jamais par sa faute. Mad. Renou prend la liberté d’assurer Monsieur et Madame la Marquise de toute sa reconnoissance et de leur présenter ses tres humbles respects".

The Marquis de Beffroi (1730 - after 1794) was the recipient of a number of letters from Rousseau during his sojourn in Bourgoin. His title as local Military Governor appears to have been largely honorary, as the town had no garrison. He fell into poverty after the Revolution, and the last trace of him in the documentary record is in 1794.

One of the greatest philosophers of the Enlightenment, Rousseau published his magnum opus, 'Émile', in 1762. Due to its criticism of religion, both Catholic France and Protestant Geneva ordered the work burnt and issued an order for his arrest. At the invitation of David Hume, he fled to Britain in 1766, but the two later fell out, prompting his return to the Continent the following year.

Thérèse Levasseur met Rousseau in Paris in 1745, while she was working as a laundress. The two had five children, all of whom were left in orphanages. In spite of the invalidity of the marriage ceremony carried out at Bourgoin in this year, the two remained together until Rousseau's death in 1778, after which she was his sole heir.

A glimpse into a dramatic and romantic period in the life of one of the Enlightenment's greatest minds.