Author:
Comte de Volney [Constantin François de Chassebœuf, Comte de Volney] (1757-1820), radical French politician [Sir Richard Phillips (1767-1840), author and publisher; Thomas Jefferson; Joel Barlow]
Volney's 'Ruines' (1791) was extremely influential, particularly in the United States. In 1796 Volney met Thomas Jefferson at Monticello to discuss Jefferson's plan to translate the book into English. Jefferson had completed the greater part of his translation by the time he mounted his 1800 bid for the presidency, at which point he handed over the project to Joel Barlow, who translated the last four chapters and, at Jefferson's request, put his name to the whole translation, which was published in 1801.