Glenn Roe

Scholarly editions in print have long been central to literary studies, produced according to well-established methodologies. In recent decades, digital scholarly editions have gained prominence, with some publishers digitising existing print editions and others creating born-digital resources. The shift from print to digital demands not only new editorial approaches but also sustained attention to issues of technical and financial sustainability – key concerns for resources of reference. The challenge is not merely to replicate print editions in digital form but to transcend their limitations and fully exploit the affordances of the digital medium. This essay examines these issues by focussing on one case-study: the creation of the digital Oxford University Voltaire, launched in 2026, which builds upon the Complete Works of Voltaire (205 vols, 1968–2022). By tracing the transition from print to digital, the authors aim to highlight both the opportunities and complexities inherent in scholarly editing today.

Voltaire's correspondence has been described as his 'greatest masterpiece' – but if it is, it is also his least studied. One of the most prodigious correspondences in Western literature, it poses significant interpretative challenges to the critic and reader alike. Considered individually, the letters present a series of complex, subtle, and playful literary performances; taken together, they constitute a formidable, and even forbidding, ensemble. How can modern readers even attempt to understand such an imposing work? This Element addresses this question through the use of digital reading methods and resources that enhance our understanding of this complex literary object and its relationship to Voltaire's more canonical literary output, and indeed to the Enlightenment world at large. Nicholas Cronk and Glenn Roe provide scholars and students with new pathways into this particular corpus, using tools and approaches that can then be applied to correspondences and life-writing texts in all languages and periods.