Candide; or, The Optimist (The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written)

xix, [1], 131, [7] pp. Tall 8vo. Dark grey full leather, gilt titles and decorations, all edges gilt, silk moire endpapers, ribbon marker bound in. Translated from the French by Richard Aldington, with an introduction by Paul Morand. Color frontispiece and color and black-and-white illustrations by Sylvain Sauvage. Candide is the story of a gentle man who, though pummeled and slapped in every direction by fate, clings desperately to the belief that he lives in "the best of all possible worlds." On the surface a witty, bantering tale, this eighteenth-century classic is actually a savage, satiric thrust at the philosophical optimism that proclaims that all disaster and human suffering is part of a benevolent cosmic plan. Fast, funny, often outrageous, the French philosopher's immortal narrative takes Candide around the world to discover that -- contrary to the teachings of his distinguished tutor Dr. Pangloss -- all is not always for the best. Alive with wit, brilliance, and graceful storytelling, Candide has become Voltaire's most celebrated work.