num_pages: 128
description: Candide, or Optimism (1759) written by Voltaire, the shining star of the French Enlightenment, is a biting, hilarious and frequently outrageous satire that pokes philosophical fun at -- of all things -- the doctrine of optimism. Candide is a naïve youth stubbornly adhering to the notion that "all is for the best in this, the best of all possible worlds," despite being cast into a flood of misfortunes and picaresque misadventures that take him around the world. Whether Candide and optimism itself emerges unscathed in the end, hinges upon his own deceptively simple "let us cultivate our garden."
language: English
title: Candide
titlecomplete: Candide
characters: Candide (Voltaire), Pangloss, Cunegonde, Dr. Pangloss
genres: Classics, France, 18th Century, Philosophy, Humor, Novels, School, Literature, French Literature, Fiction
ratings_count: 267681
places: Netherlands, Suriname, Transylvania, England, Constantinople, Argentina, Paraguay, Germany, Turkey, Istanbul, Lisbon, Portugal, Buenos Aires, Romania
publisher: Norilana Books