Synopses & Reviews
Candide is the most famous of Voltaire's "philosophical tales," in which he combined witty improbabilities with the sanest of good sense. First published in 1759, it was an instant bestseller and has come to be regarded as one of the key texts of the Enlightenment. What
Candide does for chivalric romance, the other tales in this selection--
Micromegas,
Zadig,
The Ingenu, and
The White Bull--do for science fiction, the Oriental tale, the sentimental novel, and the Old Testament.
The most extensive one-volume selection currently available, this new edition includes a new verse translation of the story Voltaire based on Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Tale: What Pleases the Ladies. Opening with a revised introduction that reflects recent critical debates and including a new section on Voltaire's verse, this edition also features updated translations, revised notes, and an updated bibliography.
About the Author
Roger Pearson is Professor of French and a Fellow of The Queen's College of Oxford University. The author of several books of French literary criticism, he has also translated the works of Zola and Mallarmé.
Table of Contents
Candide
Micromegas
Zadig
The Ingenu
The White Bull
What Pleases the Ladies