Candide or Optimism

When his love for the Baron's daughter is discovered Candide is cast out to make his own way in the world. And so he and his companions begin a breathless tour of Europe South America and Asia as an outrageous series of disasters befall them earthquakes syphilis a brush with the Inquisition and murder testing the young hero's optimism.|'The prince of philosophical novels' John UpdikeIn 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|Winner of the 2012 Fifty Books/Fifty Covers show organized by Design Observer in association with AIGA and Designers & BooksWinner of the 2014 Type Directors Club Communication Design AwardPraise for Penguin Drop Caps:[Penguin Drop Caps] convey a sense of nostalgia for the tactility and aesthetic power of a physical book and for a centuries-old tradition of beautiful lettering.—Fast Company“Vibrant minimalist new typographic covers…. Bonus points for the heartening gender balance of the initial selections.”—Maria Popova Brain PickingsThe Penguin Drop Caps series is a great example of the power of design. Why buy these particular classics when there are less expensive even free editions of Great Expectations? Because they’re beautiful objects. Paul Buckley and Jessica Hische’s fresh approach to the literary classics reduces the design down to typography and color. Each cover is foil-stamped with a cleverly illustrated letterform that reveals an element of the story. Jane Austen’s A (Pride and Prejudice) is formed by opulent peacock feathers and Charlotte Bronte’s B (Jane Eyre) is surrounded by flames. The complete set forms a rainbow spectrum prettier than anything else on your bookshelf.—Rex Bonomelli The New York TimesDrool-inducing.—FlavorwireClassic reads in stunning covers—your book club will be dying.—Redbook|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.