Candide

Candide, Voltaire’s magnum opus, is a matchless satirical take-down of religion, theologians, governments, armies, philosophies, and philosophers. The novella unfolds as the sheltered and privileged Candide, a young man enraptured of his facile mentor Pangloss, experiences the hardships and injustices of life, forcing him to abandon the naïve notion that “all is for the best” in favor of a practical determination that life is best lived “cultivating one’s garden.” Considered by many to be one of the greatest achievements of Western literature, Candide has influenced modern writers of black humor such as Céline, Joseph Heller, John Barth, Thomas Pynchon, Kurt Vonnegut, and Terry Southern. This Warbler Classics edition includes notes, a glossary, and a detailed biographical timeline of Voltaire’s life and work.

Voltaire (1694–1778) is one of the greatest French writers of all time. His wide-ranging body of work includes plays, letters, essays, novellas, poems, and treatises that champion freedom of speech, freedom of religion, separation of church and state, and respect for the rights of man. Using wit and satire, Voltaire crusaded against all forms of tyranny, bigotry, and cruelty. A major figure of the Enlightenment, he is credited with influencing the shape of European civilization.

Paul Klee (1879–1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism.

Donald M. Frame (1911–1991) was a scholar of French Renaissance literature and the Moore Professor Emeritus of French at Columbia University. He was a recognized authority on the work of Michel de Montaigne (Harold Bloom called Frame “the best modern Montaigne scholar”), as well as a respected translator of Rabelais and Moliere, among others.