Evelyn Beatrice Hall was an English biographer and writer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Writing under the masculine pseudonym S. G. Tallentyre, she established herself as a prominent literary biographer, focusing heavily on the figures of the French Enlightenment. Her most enduring contributions to literature and political philosophy lie in her detailed historical accounts of Voltaire and his intellectual circle. Hall's most famous work, The Life of Voltaire, was first published in 1903 and offered a comprehensive look at the philosopher's life, ideas, and historical impact. She followed this success with The Friends of Voltaire in 1906. It was in this latter volume that Hall penned her most famous line: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Written as a paraphrased illustration of Voltaire's core beliefs on intellectual liberty, the phrase is frequently misattributed to Voltaire himself but remains one of the most widely cited summaries of the principle of freedom of speech. Through her biographies, Hall sought to make the complex intellectual history of the Enlightenment accessible to English-speaking readers. Her writing was characterized by a clear, engaging narrative style that brought historical figures to life, ensuring her subjects remained relevant to contemporary debates on liberty and expression.
