Candide, by Voltaire - Franklin Library

Candide, by Voltaire. 1978 Franklin Library hardcover. 215 pages, very nice condition.

Full leather cover with raised bands on spine, gilt lettering and full gilt embellishments. All pages are gilt edged, with silk moire endpapers and bookmark. A Limited Edition - The 100 Greatest Books of All Time.

Illustrated by Sylvain Sauvage. Candide is Voltaire's 1759 satirical masterpiece, wreaking havoc on the excesses of 18th century French Enlightenment culture. The story begins with our protagonist Candide, a young man living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. This idyllic life is abruptly interrupted, however, by a series of painfully disillusioning events that set him off on a wide-ranging journey.

Candide has enjoyed both great success and great scandal. Immediately after its secretive publication, the book was widely banned to the public because it contained religious blasphemy, political sedition, and intellectual hostility hidden under a thin veil of naïveté. Today, Candide is considered as Voltaire's magnum opus and is among the most frequently taught works of French literature.