fled his country in 1963 and moved to Paris, where he made his name as a philosopher, literary theorist, historian of ideas and essayist. With his essay Littérature et signification (1967) he became one of the pioneers of the revival of classical rhetorics. He was a visiting professor at various institutions all over the world and was awarded many honours, among which the prestigious Dutch Spinozalens (2003). Todorov also became highly respected for his translations of the works of the Russian formalists. Since 1968 he works at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), that is currently under his guidance. Todorov wrote about twenty books, among which Introduction à la littérature fantastique (1970), Nous et les autres: la réflexion française sur la diversité humaine (1989), Face à l’extrême (1991) and La Littérature en péril (2007).