Category Archives: Uncategorized

Thus far in my “Adam Smith in Paris” series, we have identified six possible lost loves in Adam Smith’s life — five of them by name(!): Marie-Jeanne Riccoboni (b. 1713, d. 1792). Marie Françoise Catherine de Beauvau-Craon (b. 1711, d. … Continue reading →

I am interrupting my “Adam Smith in Paris” series to share this tweet by @johnkrausphotos: The Milky Way, #ShotOniPhone, straight out of camera with the iPhone 13 Pro Max. 30” exposure. Still not yet there when it comes to the … Continue reading →

Who was the “lady of Fife” mentioned in my previous post and in Colbert’s letter dated 18 September 1766? Alain Alcouffe and Andrew Moore (2018, 15 n.18) identify this possible love interest as Lady Janet Anstruther (b. 1725, d. 1802), … Continue reading →

Let’s resume my “Adam Smith in Paris” series by introducing an additional piece of evidence, a possible “Smoking Arrow” in the form of a private letter addressed to Smith dated 18 September 1766, a month before the end of Smith’s … Continue reading →

Which one is your favorite, and why?

In a private letter dated 14 July 1794, four years and three days after the death of Adam Smith, Dr James Currie mentions that Adam Smith visited the small town of Abbeville in northwest France. Currie’s letter does not say … Continue reading →

Previously, I described the dramatic transformation in Madame Marie-Jeanne Riccoboni’s attitude toward Adam Smith. (See my post dated 7 October 2021.) But the question remains, Why did she fall for him? Madame Riccoboni, an accomplished actress and novelist, and Doctor … Continue reading →

In his 1995 biography of Adam Smith, Ian Simpson Ross (p. 209 & p. 213) reports that “Smith enjoyed the Paris opera season” and had “attended many plays and concerts, as well as the operas ….” during his 10-month sojourn … Continue reading →

Note: this is the second post in a multi-part series. Most accounts of Adam Smith’s extended stay in Paris (Dec. 1765 to Oct. 1766) emphasize the pivotal role that Paris’s famed philosophical and literary “salons” had on Smith’s intellectual development. … Continue reading →

Now that I have completed my multi-part reviews of the Jack Balkin and Mark Lemley papers, I will be “switching gears”, so to speak, and writing about Adam Smith’s eventful year in Paris — i.e., from late December of 1765 … Continue reading →