But Chaucer did write other things, which helped support his scholarly reputation -- and without that, nobody would be reading him in English class. (He's not someone who has adapted well to the media age so far.)
Likewise Voltaire -- I think of him as /the/ author of the French Enlightenment, but I only know him for one short novel and a handful of quotations. I feel like he's the best analogue to Orwell here (whose future popularity will depend on how and to what extent our culture absorbs Orwell's lessons, as it has largely absorbed Voltaire's.)
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yati
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Date: 2014-10-27 03:58 pm (UTC)Likewise Voltaire -- I think of him as /the/ author of the French Enlightenment, but I only know him for one short novel and a handful of quotations. I feel like he's the best analogue to Orwell here (whose future popularity will depend on how and to what extent our culture absorbs Orwell's lessons, as it has largely absorbed Voltaire's.)