A Wicked Company

The Forgotten Radicalism of the European Enlightenment

By: Philipp Blom

Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin

The flourishing of radical philosophy in Baron Thierry Holbach’s Paris salon from the 1750s to the 1770s stands as a seminal event in Western history. Holbach’s house was an international epicenter of revolutionary ideas and intellectual daring, bringing together such original minds as Denis Diderot, Laurence Sterne, David Hume, Adam Smith, Ferdinando Galiani, Horace Walpole, Benjamin Franklin, Guillaume Raynal, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

In A Wicked Company, acclaimed historian Philipp Blom retraces the fortunes of this exceptional group of friends. All brilliant minds, full of wit, courage, and insight, their thinking created a different and radical French Enlightenment based on atheism, passion, reason, and truly humanist thinking. A startlingly relevant work of narrative history, A Wicked Company forces us to confront with new eyes the foundational debates about modern society and its future.

©2010 Philipp Blom (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Excellent Book on Radical Enlightenment

Where does A Wicked Company rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 10%.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Wicked Company?

There are many.

What does James Patrick Cronin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I have done both, and the book is excellent either way.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Diderot and His Times.

Any additional comments?

I use this in college classes, and my students enjoy it.

Excellent book. Great Narration.

Excellent book. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Very good narration too. Couldn't ask for more. Highly recommended.