Emile

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The once banned and burned treatise on the nature of education from the eighteenth-century philosopher and author of The Social Contract . Considered by Jean-Jacques Rousseau himself to be the "best and most important" of all his writings, Émile set off a firestorm when it was first published in 1762. It was banned in Paris and burned in Geneva, but later served as the inspiration for a new national system of education during the French Revolution. In its pages, Émile and his tutor embark on a scholarly journey through the boy's upbringing. The book also follows the character of Sophie, commenting on the role of women in society. "More a tract upon education with the appearance of a story than it is a novel, the book describes the ideal education which prepares Émile and Sophie for their eventual marriage" (The Roots of Educational Theory). "Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Émile or Treatise on