Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) was born on his family estate in Aquitaine, not far from Bordeaux. Raised speaking Greek and Latin, he studied law before embarking on a career of public service, first as a counselor of court in Périgueux and Bordeaux, then as a courtier to Charles IX. Following the death of his father, Montaigne retired from public life to the Tower of his château to read and write. He published the first two volumes of his landmark Essays in 1580, with a third following in 1588; the complete Essays appeared posthumously in 1595.

David Coward is Emeritus Professor of French at the University of Leeds and a translator of many books from the French, including Georges Simenon's Inspector Maigret series and Arthur Cohen's Belle du Seigneur, for which he was awarded a Scott Moncrieff Prize.