When Michel de Montaigne retired to his family estate in 1572, aged 38, he tells us that he wanted to write his famous Essays as a distraction for his idle mind. He neither wanted nor expected people ...

Michel de Montaigne was one of the most influential figures of the Renaissance, singlehandedly responsible for popularising the essay as a literary form. In 1572, Montaigne retired to his estates in ...

When I decided to take a gap year last summer, I set out to fill my spare time with writing about the books I have been reading. This was new for me — though I am an English major, I hardly wrote ...

To overcome a crisis of melancholy after the death of his father, Montaigne withdrew to his country estates and began to write, and in the highly original essays that resulted he discussed themes such ...

The bust of French philosopher Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) is displayed at the Bibliothèque in Bordeaux, as part of an exhibition and events through the city dedicated to the former mayor. (Photo ...

In a series exploring the work of scholar and writer Michel de Montaigne, thinker and historian Theodore Zeldin considers to what extent Montaigne's philosophy holds true today. Show more A series of ...

One wrote essays to be read in private, the younger wrote plays for the public; both turned uncertainty into art Montaigne was 31 years older than Shakespeare, who drew on his work while also ...

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or ...