Editing Voltaire (section)

=== Early fiction ===
Voltaire's next play, ''[[Artémire (tragedy)|Artémire]]'', set in ancient Macedonia, opened on 15 February 1720. It was a flop and only fragments of the text survive.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=54}} He instead turned to an epic poem about [[Henry IV of France]] that he had begun in early 1717.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=55}} Denied a licence to publish, in August 1722 Voltaire headed north to find a publisher outside France. On the journey, he was accompanied by his mistress, Marie-Marguerite de Rupelmonde, a young widow.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=57}}

At Brussels, Voltaire and Rousseau met up for a few days, before Voltaire and his mistress continued northwards. A publisher was eventually secured in The Hague.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=59}} In the Netherlands, Voltaire was struck and impressed by the openness and tolerance of Dutch society.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|pp=60–61}} On his return to France, he secured a second publisher in [[Rouen]], who agreed to publish ''[[Henriade|La Henriade]]'' clandestinely.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=61}} After Voltaire's recovery from a month-long [[smallpox]] infection in November 1723, the first copies were smuggled into Paris and distributed.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=62}} While the poem was an instant success, Voltaire's new play, ''[[Hérode et Mariamne|Mariamne]]'', was a failure when it first opened in March 1724.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=64}} Heavily reworked, it opened at the ''Comédie-Française'' in April 1725 to a much-improved reception.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=64}} It was among the entertainments provided at the wedding of [[Louis XV]] and [[Marie Leszczyńska]] in September 1725.{{sfn|Pearson|2005|p=64}}