Oxford University Voltaire
A platform dedicated to the works and correspondence of Voltaire
Voltaire wrote in every known genre, verse, theatre, history, scientific writings, fiction, philosophy, biblical criticism, pamphlets and journalism… In over 15,000 letters, he assembled a vast pan-European network encompassing figures from every level of society.
Oxford University Voltaire (OV) is a new digital scholarly edition, designed to have the same authoritative status as the very best print editions. It recreates in digital format the 205-volume Complete Works of Voltaire / Œuvres complètes de Voltaire (Oxford, Voltaire Foundation, 1967–2022), while breaking new ground, defining and shaping its field just as the print edition did. We are proud that OV has already been recognised as a British Academy Research Project and has received significant support from the Fondation Del Duca (Institut de France)
Launching in 2026
OV launches in 2026, with:
- All Voltaire’s works and correspondence
- Advanced scholarly apparatus (including variants, editorial notes, introductions, bibliographical descriptions)
- Stable referencing system: follow a reference from the print edition, generate a citation to OV, or copy and save a DOI
- Sophisticated filtered searching and browsing of Voltaire’s writings as well as editorial material
Coming next...
Our September 2026 update will include:
- Voltaire’s marginalia, taken from approximately 3000 volumes of his personal library
- Open Voltaire: an integrated open-access companion to OV offering a suite of complementary digital tools, freely available and designed to enable further research into Voltaire's life, works and legacy. First to launch on the platform will be the Voltaire Iconography database, bringing together for the first time all images of Voltaire produced up to 1830.
Explore the platform here.
Purchase nowAvailable to purchase either on a subscription basis or with perpetual access.
OV is a collaborative endeavour between the Voltaire Foundation, Open Creative Communications and dancan Ltd, and is marketed and sold by Liverpool University Press.
