Jean-Jacques Rousseau

This is the book's author. He was a Swiss born man from the middle class; his father was the sole working parent, a watchmaker.

He had a kind and gentle childhood, despite the loss of his mother almost immediately after his birth. Sadly, however, once a teen he was apprenticed to a violent Master. This contributed to the development of some personal vices on the part of the apprentice. This also provided some impetus to change: in fact, it was so bad that he ran away from his professional training to get away from the abuse.

There is an introduction about him at the front of the book, provided by a professional scholar.

Barbara Foxley

This woman is the translator (from the French). Any of her biases in the translation are not readily apparent. Sufficient scholarship and research would enable one to discern her influence upon the...