(Paris, 1822, 8vo), the other a romance pure and simple by
F. T. Claudon (Paris, 1835, 2 vols., 8vo) called _Le Baron d'Holbach_,
the events of which take place largely at his house and in which he
plays the role of a minor character. A good account of Holbach,
though short and incidental, is to be found in M. Avezac-Lavigne's
_Diderot et la Societe du Baron d'Holbach_ (Paris, 1875, 8vo), and
M. Armand Gaste has a little book entitled _Diderot et le cure
de Montchauvet, une Mystification litteraire chez le Baron d'Holbach_
(Paris, 1895, 16vo). There are several works which devote a chapter
or section to Holbach. [3:4] The French critics and the histories of
philosophy contain slight notices; Rosenkranz's "Diderot's Leben"
devotes a chapter to Granval, Holbach's country seat, and life there
as described by Diderot in his letters to Mlle. Volland; and he is
included in such histories of ideas as Soury, J., "Breviaire
de l'histoire de Materialisme" (Paris, 1881) and Delvaille, J.,
_Essai sur l'histoire de l'idee de progres_ (Paris, 1910); but
nowhere else is there anything more than the merest encyclopedic
account, often defective and incorrect.

The sources are in a sense full and reliable for certain phases of
his life and literary activity. His own publications, numbering
about fifty, form the most important body of source material for
the history and development of his ideas. Next in importance are
contemporary memoirs and letters including those of Voltaire,
Rousseau, Diderot, Grimm, Morellet, Marmontel, Mme. d'Epinay,
Naigeon, Garat, Galiani, Hume, Garrick, Wilkes, Romilly and others;
and scattered letters by Holbach himself, largely to his English
friends. In addition there is a large body of contemporary hostile
criticism of his books, by Voltaire, Frederick II, Castillon,
Holland, La Harpe, Delisle de Sales and a host of outraged