Candide

Voltaire

Jan 2015 · Open Road Media

About this ebook

Voltaire’s satire of eighteenth-century Europe, hailed as one of the most influential works in the Western canon

Candide’s misfortunes begin when his uncle, a German baron, banishes him for kissing the baron’s daughter, Cunégonde. Forced to make his own way in the world, Candide goes from conscription in the Bulgar army, to Lisbon, after a harrowing voyage by sea, to the tutelage of the Enlightenment philosopher Pangloss. After an unexpected reunion with his beloved Cunégonde, Candide finds that further misadventure awaits, first through South America and then back in Europe, where he settles in the countryside.

Among the most widely renowned texts of western literature, Candide lives on two hundred fifty years since its first publication as a supreme example of political, philosophical, and religious satire whose wit and power of observation have influenced writers for generations.

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Ratings and reviews

For such an old text, it reads almost like new.

I enjoyed each and every chapter of this translation

excellent read

About the author

Voltaire (1694–1778) was the pseudonym of François-Marie Arouet de Voltaire, one of the most prominent writers and thinkers of the Enlightenment. After studying at the Collège de Clermont (now the Lycée Louis-le-Grand), he began writing philosophical works as well as poems, comedic plays, and other forms of literature. Voltaire was often imprisoned for publicly criticizing the French monarchy. His controversial beliefs included religious freedom, freedom of expression, and separation of church and state.