Candide

What It's About

Candide is raised in an idyllic Westphalian castle, taught by his tutor Pangloss that this is "the best of all possible worlds." Once expelled from this paradise, he's swept into a relentless string of disasters — war, shipwreck, earthquake, the Inquisition, slavery and betrayal — as he searches across Europe and the New World for his beloved Cunégonde, all while his blind faith in Pangloss's philosophy is tested at every turn.

Key Concepts

The novel is a direct satire of Leibnizian optimism — the idea that a benevolent God must have created the best of all possible worlds, despite all evidence of suffering to the contrary. Through Candide's ordeals, Voltaire skewers organised religion, the hypocrisy of the powerful, the folly of war, and the human tendency to rationalise cruelty and misfortune with tidy philosophical explanations. It's written as a "conte philosophique" — a philosophical tale that uses a fast-moving, almost absurdist plot to deliver serious argument.

About the Author

Voltaire was the pen name of François-Marie Arouet, a French writer and philosopher of the Enlightenment. Known for his sharp wit and outspoken advocacy of civil liberties, freedom of religion, and free expression, he spent periods of his life in exile as a result of his writing, and became one of the most influential intellectual figures of 18th-century Europe.

About This Edition

This is a 1947 translation by The Modern Library.