Frederic Bastiat; a man alone

When following the ideas of Frederic Bastiat, the reader often wishes to know a bit more about the man himself. This applies to many thinkers of consequence--we find their ideas so interesting that we think their lives must be equally exciting and significant. Bastiat, however, has remained a shadowy entity, even to his few biographers. The same scant details of the man's personal life appear in each of the several sketches devoted to his career.