The Travels and Adventures of James Massey

Simon Tyssot de Patot (1655–1738) was a French writer and poet during the Age of Enlightenment who penned two very important, seminal works in fantastic literature. Tyssot was born in London of French Huguenot parents. He was brought up in Rouans, moved to Delft (1662), Heusden (1676–1679) and Den Bosch, but spent most of his adult life in Deventer in the Netherlands, where he taught French and was professor of mathematics at the city's Athenaeum Illustre of Deventer. He had probably met John Locke in the 1680s and almost certainly knew the Irish deist John Toland, who lived at The Hague in 1708–10. His life proceeded relatively uneventfully until 1727, when at the age of 72 the publication of his "Lettres choisies" caused a scandal. He was accused of spinozism, irreligious and immoral views. Attempts to clear his name failed, he was dismissed from his post as professor and left the Hanseatic town. He died in 1738 in IJsselstein.