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Candide

Or Optimism

Or Optimism (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

Or Optimism

Or Optimism

Or Optimism (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

By Francois Voltaire
Introduction by Michael Wood
Translated by Theo Cuffe

By Francois Voltaire
Introduction by Michael Wood
Translated by Theo Cuffe

By Francois Voltaire
Illustrated by Chris Ware
Introduction by Michael Wood
Translated by Theo Cuffe

By Francois Voltaire
Illustrated by Chris Ware
Introduction by Michael Wood
Translated by Theo Cuffe

By Francois Voltaire
Introduction by John Butt
Translated by John Butt

By Francois Voltaire
Introduction by John Butt
Translated by John Butt

By Francois Voltaire
Illustrated by Jessica Hische
Translated by Theo Cuffe

By Francois Voltaire
Illustrated by Jessica Hische
Translated by Theo Cuffe

By Francois Voltaire
Illustrated by Chris Ware
Introduction by Michael Wood
Translated by Theo Cuffe

By Francois Voltaire
Illustrated by Chris Ware
Introduction by Michael Wood
Translated by Theo Cuffe

Best Seller

Part of Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition

Part of Penguin Drop Caps

Part of Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition

Paperback $13.00

Feb 24, 2009 | ISBN 9780140455106

Paperback $17.00

Oct 25, 2005 | ISBN 9780143039426

Paperback $13.00

Jun 30, 1950 | ISBN 9780140440041

Hardcover $27.00

Aug 20, 2014 | ISBN 9780143125853

Ebook $10.99

Oct 25, 2005 | ISBN 9781101549742

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    Candide by Francois Voltaire
    Hardcover $27.00
    Aug 20, 2014 | ISBN 9780143125853

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    • Paperback $13.00

      Feb 24, 2009 | ISBN 9780140455106

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    • Paperback $17.00

      Oct 25, 2005 | ISBN 9780143039426

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    • Paperback $13.00

      Jun 30, 1950 | ISBN 9780140440041

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Hardcover
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    • Hardcover $27.00

      Aug 20, 2014 | ISBN 9780143125853

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    Ebook
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    • Ebook

      Oct 25, 2005 | ISBN 9781101549742

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    About Candide

    Theo Cuffe’s marvelous translation of Voltaire’s satirical masterpiece
    With its vibrant new translation and perceptive introduction this new edition of Voltaire’s masterpiece belongs in the hands of every reader pondering our assumptions about human behavior and our place in the world. Candide tells of the hilarious adventures of the naïve Candide, who doggedly believes that “all is for the best” even when faced with injustice, suffering, and despair. Controversial and entertaining, Candide is a book that is vitally relevant today in our world pervaded by—as Candide would say—“the mania for insisting that all is well when all is by no means well.”

    For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

    About Candide

    With its vibrant new translation, perceptive introduction, and witty packaging, this new edition of Voltaire’s masterpiece belongs in the hands of every reader pondering our assumptions about human behavior and our place in the world. Candide tells of the hilarious adventures of the naïve Candide, who doggedly believes that “all is for the best” even when faced with injustice, suffering, and despair. Controversial and entertaining, Candide is a book that is vitally relevant today in our world pervaded by—as Candide would say—“the mania for insisting that all is well when all is by no means well.”

    About Candide

    “All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds”
     
    It was the indifferent shrug and callous inertia that this “optimism” concealed which so angered Voltaire, who found the “all for the best” approach a patently inadequate response to suffering, to natural disasters, not to mention the questions of illness and man-made war. Moreover, as the rebel whose satiric genius had earned him not only international acclaim, but two stays in the Bastille, flogging, and exile, Voltaire knew personally what suffering entailed. In Candide he whisks his young hero and friends through a ludicrous variety of tortures, tragedies, and a reversal of fortune, in the company of Pangloss, a “metaphysico-theologo-comolo-nigologist” of unflinching optimism. The result is one of the glories of eighteenth-century satire.
    For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

    About Candide

    From A to Z, the Penguin Drop Caps series collects 26 unique hardcovers—featuring cover art by Jessica Hische

    It all begins with a letter. Fall in love with Penguin Drop Caps, a new series of twenty-six collectible and hardcover editions, each with a type cover showcasing a gorgeously illustrated letter of the alphabet. In a design collaboration between Jessica Hische and Penguin Art Director Paul Buckley, the series features unique cover art by Hische, a superstar in the world of type design and illustration, whose work has appeared everywhere from Tiffany & Co. to Wes Anderson’s recent film Moonrise Kingdom to Penguin’s own bestsellers Committed and Rules of Civility. With exclusive designs that have never before appeared on Hische’s hugely popular Daily Drop Cap blog, the Penguin Drop Caps series launches with six perennial favorites to give as elegant gifts, or to showcase on your own shelves.

    V is for Voltaire.  Voltaire’s masterpiece belongs in the hands of every reader pondering our assumptions about human behavior and our place in the world. Voltaire tells of the ludicrous adventures and reversals of fortune of the naïve Candide, who doggedly believes that “all is for the best” even when faced with injustice, suffering, and despair. A satirical challenge to the empty optimism prevalent in Voltaire’s eighteenth-century society is both controversial and entertaining, but also vitally relevant today in our world pervaded by—as Candide would say—“the mania for insisting that all is well when all is by no means well.”

    About Candide

    “All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds”
     
    It was the indifferent shrug and callous inertia that this “optimism” concealed which so angered Voltaire, who found the “all for the best” approach a patently inadequate response to suffering, to natural disasters, not to mention the questions of illness and man-made war. Moreover, as the rebel whose satiric genius had earned him not only international acclaim, but two stays in the Bastille, flogging, and exile, Voltaire knew personally what suffering entailed. In Candide he whisks his young hero and friends through a ludicrous variety of tortures, tragedies, and a reversal of fortune, in the company of Pangloss, a “metaphysico-theologo-comolo-nigologist” of unflinching optimism. The result is one of the glories of eighteenth-century satire.
    For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

    Reading Guide

    Reading Guide

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Reading Guide

    Also by Francois Voltaire

    Cadide, Zadig and Selected Stories
    Micromegas and Other Short Fictions
    Philosophical Dictionary
    Letters on England
    Zadig; L'Ingenu
    See all books by Francois Voltaire

    Also by Francois Voltaire

    Cadide, Zadig and Selected Stories
    Micromegas and Other Short Fictions
    Philosophical Dictionary
    Letters on England
    Zadig; L'Ingenu
    See all books by Francois Voltaire

    Also by Francois Voltaire

    Cadide, Zadig and Selected Stories
    Micromegas and Other Short Fictions
    Philosophical Dictionary
    Letters on England
    Zadig; L'Ingenu
    See all books by Francois Voltaire

    Also by Francois Voltaire

    Cadide, Zadig and Selected Stories
    Micromegas and Other Short Fictions
    Philosophical Dictionary
    Letters on England
    Zadig; L'Ingenu
    See all books by Francois Voltaire

    Also by Francois Voltaire

    Cadide, Zadig and Selected Stories
    Micromegas and Other Short Fictions
    Philosophical Dictionary
    Letters on England
    Zadig; L'Ingenu
    See all books by Francois Voltaire

    About Francois Voltaire

    François-Marie Arouet, writing under the pseudonym Voltaire, was born in 1694 into a Parisian bourgeois family. Educated by Jesuits, he was an excellent pupil but one quickly enraged by dogma. An early rift with his father—who wished him to study… More about Francois Voltaire

    About Francois Voltaire

    François-Marie Arouet, writing under the pseudonym Voltaire, was born in 1694 into a Parisian bourgeois family. Educated by Jesuits, he was an excellent pupil but one quickly enraged by dogma. An early rift with his father—who wished him to study… More about Francois Voltaire

    About Francois Voltaire

    François-Marie Arouet, writing under the pseudonym Voltaire, was born in 1694 into a Parisian bourgeois family. Educated by Jesuits, he was an excellent pupil but one quickly enraged by dogma. An early rift with his father—who wished him to study… More about Francois Voltaire

    About Francois Voltaire

    François-Marie Arouet, writing under the pseudonym Voltaire, was born in 1694 into a Parisian bourgeois family. Educated by Jesuits, he was an excellent pupil but one quickly enraged by dogma. An early rift with his father—who wished him to study… More about Francois Voltaire

    About Francois Voltaire

    François-Marie Arouet, writing under the pseudonym Voltaire, was born in 1694 into a Parisian bourgeois family. Educated by Jesuits, he was an excellent pupil but one quickly enraged by dogma. An early rift with his father—who wished him to study… More about Francois Voltaire

    Product Details

    Category: Fiction Classics | Literary Fiction

    Paperback | $13.00
    Published by Penguin Classics
    Feb 24, 2009 | 208 Pages | ISBN 9780140455106

    Category: Fiction Classics | Literary Fiction

    Paperback | $17.00
    Published by Penguin Classics
    Oct 25, 2005 | 208 Pages | 5-5/8 x 8-7/16 | ISBN 9780143039426

    Category: Fiction Classics | Literary Fiction

    Paperback | $13.00
    Published by Penguin Classics
    Jun 30, 1950 | 144 Pages | ISBN 9780140440041

    Category: Literary Fiction

    Hardcover | $27.00
    Published by Penguin Books
    Aug 20, 2014 | 224 Pages | 5-1/8 x 7-1/2 | ISBN 9780143125853

    Category: Fiction Classics | Literary Fiction

    Ebook | $10.99
    Published by Penguin Classics
    Oct 25, 2005 | 208 Pages | ISBN 9781101549742
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    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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