[ a] lucid biography * Michael Prodger, New Statesman * ...engrossing * The New Yorker * By setting his detailed analysis of her major work, Institutions de physique, against discussions of early modern scientific and philosophical controversies, Janiak provides a lucid and thoroughly persuasive account of Du Chātelet's originality and her influence on Enlightenment thought. The book asks a powerful question: how did it happen that "the most famous woman of the Enlightenment," whose ideas were echoed by thinkers across Europe was so thoroughly erased from histories of philosophy? Without ever losing sight of Du Chātelet and her philosophical vision, Janiak illuminates the blind spots and biases within the discipline of philosophy from the eighteenth century to the present. * Julie Candler Hayes, University of Massachusetts Amherst, author of Women Moralists in Early Modern France * Janiak offers readers clear, accessible descriptions of Du Chātelet's significant contributions to the philosophers' and physicists' arguments in the early decades of the Enlightenment. His book makes a useful addition to the literature on this amazing genius and this key era in the evolution of our modern philosophical and scientific approaches to our universe. * Judith P. Zinsser, author Emilie Du Chatelet: Daring Genius of the Enlightenment * Although she was recognised in her own time as France's premier female philosophe, Emilie Du Chātelet's star was subsequently obscured by the shadows of Newton, Leibniz, Voltaire, and other 'great men' of the Enlightenment. Until recently, she only attracted interest for her liaison with Voltaire. Janiak's study places her where she deserves to be, as a major female thinker of the Enlightenment. It is refreshing to read an account which discusses her as a thinker in her own right. Focusing on her masterwork, Institutions de physique, he navigates the complexities of her scientific and philosophical context to explain the importance of Du Chātelet's achievement for the history of science and philosophy. This is a masterly account, which will be appreciated by non-specialists as well as readers familiar with her work. * Sarah Hutton, Honorary Visiting Professor, University of York, UK * This is generally a great book to browse through for inspiration...the available information, these authors have crafted a great scholarly book, though it is occasionally too digressive or philosophical. This book is suitable for purchase by academic libraries, as there will be some students in most schools who are interested in such reflections. * Pennsylvania Literary Journal * In The Enlightenment's Most Dangerous Woman, Andrew Janiak, a professor of philosophy at Duke University, challenges the way Du Chātelet is remembered today. His emphasis is philosophical rather than biographical and his fundamental argument is that Du Chātelet has been unjustly excluded from the canon of Enlightenment philosophers, her contributions ignored or subsumed into the works of the 'great men' that the canon was established to celebrate. * The Wall Street Journal * "...engrossing" * The New Yorker * Janiak writes warmly about Du Chatelet's work ... Du Chatelet certainly deserves the reassessment she is now receiving. * Sarah Bakewell, The SpectatorThe SpectatorThe Spectator * Janiak's detailed, thought-provoking book presents another step towards the restoration of du Chātelet to her rightful place in the history of philosophy...[ it excels] in its discussion of its subject's intellectual and philosophical context, and in the nuanced lessons it draws from history for present-day du Chātelet scholars. * Geertje Bol, Times Literary Supplement *
