The conventional image of French polemicist and diplomat Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821) is that of a theocrat and a proto-fascist. Cara Camcastle challenges this by considering his unpublished memoirs, memoranda, diplomatic correspondence, and letters. In an analysis of his ideas on political economy, international relations, and domestic politics, Camcastle reveals Maistre to have opposed absolutism and points to the views of an economic liberal and moderate conservative closer to Montesquieu, Smith, and Burke.