The autobiography of Michel de Montaigne

This twentieth-century English volume arranges passages from Montaigne's own writings so that they read as the story of his life. Since he wrote constantly about himself, the selection draws out his childhood and unusual Latin-first education, his legal and public career, his friendship with La Boétie, his retreat to his tower library, his travels and his thoughts on illness and ageing. It is not a single memoir by Montaigne but a gathering of his own words. It offers a gentle, direct introduction to the man and shows why his self-portrait still feels so close and alive.