The 285 letters contained in this volume of the "Correspondance générale" date from the years following Constant's exclusion from the Tribunal. They reflect his work on religious issues, his dreams of literary success, and his travels in France, Germany, and Switzerland. In addition, they provide an impression of political life at the beginning of the Napoleonic empire and the emotional vicissitudes undergone by their author: his unsuccessful attempts to break with Germaine de Staël, his desire to marry (but whom?), his presence at the deaths of Julie Talma and Isabelle de Charrière, and his initial lack of enthusiasm after renewing his acquaintance with Charlotte von Hardenberg.