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Candide by Voltaire

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Candide

Author
Voltaire
Publisher
Blackstone Publishing
Publish Date
1 November 2010
Run Time
3 hours 24 minutes
Format
Audiobook
$13.95

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What to expect

Candide, published simultaneously in five European capitals in 1759, became an instant bestseller and is now regarded as one of the key texts of the Enlightenment.

This is a witty allegory of a young man whose optimism gives way to disillusionment after a series of terrible misfortunes.

Voltaire’s preoccupations with evil and with various kinds of human folly and intolerance found a perfect vehicle in this philosophical tale. A master storyteller, he combined often wildly entertaining action with profoundly serious sense, parodying the traditional chivalric and oriental tales with which his public was more familiar.

Critics Review

  • “Voltaire, a pivotal figure in the Enlightenment, made his mark with this satiric triumph following the woes of a young man who fell in love with the wrong woman.”

    Audible.com

  • “Penned by that Renaissance man of the Enlightenment, Voltaire, Candide is steeped in the political and philosophical controversies of the 1750s. But for the general reader, the novel’s driving principle is clear enough: the idea that we live in the best of all possible worlds, and apparent folly, misery, and strife are actually harbingers of a greater good we cannot perceive, is hogwash.”

    Amazon.com

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Details

Author
Voltaire
Narrator
Jack Davenport
Duration
3 hours 24 minutes
Release Date
1 November 2010
ISBN
9781609980320
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Blackstone Publishing
Genre
Classic fiction, Satirical fiction and parodies, Historical fiction

Synopsis

Candide, published simultaneously in five European capitals in 1759, became an instant bestseller and is now regarded as one of the key texts of the Enlightenment. Voltaire’s preoccupations with evil and with various kinds of human folly and intolerance found a perfect vehicle in the philosophical tale. A master storyteller, he combined often wildly entertaining action with profoundly serious sense, parodying the traditional chivalric and oriental tales with which his public was more familiar to create a witty allegory of a young man whose optimism gives way to disillusionment after a series of terrible misfortunes.

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