Voltaire’s "La Mort de César"

In the preface to La Mort de César (1736), Voltaire claimed to have written a tragedy inspired by Julius Caesar that, while not resembling Shakespeare’s play, was «entirely in the English taste». Such a claim has so far gone virtually unnoticed in scholarly circles, despite its intriguing nature. Furthermore, La Mort de César is commonly referred to as a cornerstone in the European reception of Shakespeare’s drama even though, according to Voltaire, his play was far removed from the barbaric, ta