'The prince of philosophical novels' John Updike
In Candide, Voltaire threw down an audacious challenge to the philosophical views of the Enlightenment to create one of the most glorious satires of the eighteenth century. His eponymous hero is an innocent young man whose tutor, Pangloss, has instilled in him the belief that 'all is for the best'. But when his love for the Baron's rosy-cheeked daughter is discovered, Candide is cast out to make his own fortune. As he and his various companions roam over the world, an outrageous series of disasters - earthquakes, syphilis, the Inquisition - sorely test the young hero's optimism, holding a mirror up to all fanatics, zealots and moral reformers of humankind.
Translated and Edited by Theo Cuffe with an Introduction by Michael Wood
Voltaire (1694-1778) French writer, satirist, the embodiment of the 18th-century Enlightenment. Among his best-known works is the satirical short story CANDIDE (1759).
Michael Wood (introducer) is currently Straut Professor of English at Princeton. His books include Stendhal, America in the Movies, The Magician's Doubts, Franz Kafka, and The Road to Delphi. Theo Cuffe (translator) has also translated a selection of Voltaire's short stories for Penguin, Micromegas and Other Short Fictions.
Title: Candide, or Optimism (Penguin Classics)
Author: Francois Voltaire
ISBN: 9780140455106
Binding:
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Publication Date: 2006-05-25
Number of Pages: 208
Weight: 0.0590 kg
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