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Candide, or Optimism
Candide, or Optimism
paperback | English
Published:
25 May, 2006
Popular Books by Francois Voltaire
View All Books by Francois Voltaire
Description
'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
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9780140455106 |
| ISBN10 | 0140455108 |
| Number Of Pages | 208 |
| Item Weight | 168 g |
| Product Dimensions | 129 x 200 x 14 mm |
| Publisher / Reseller | Penguin Books Ltd |
| Format | paperback |
Media Reviews
Winner of the 2012 Fifty Books/Fifty Covers show, organized by Design Observer in association with AIGA and Designers & Books
Winner of the 2014 Type Directors Club Communication Design Award
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Author's Bio
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, Micromégas and Other Short Fictions.