Candide(Barnes&NobleClassicsSeries)

Candide,byVoltaire,ispartoftheBarnes&NobleClassicsseries,whichoffersqualityeditionsataffordablepricestothestudentandthegeneralreader,includingnewscholarship,thoughtfuldesign,andpagesofcarefullycraftedextras.HerearesomeoftheremarkablefeaturesofBarnes&NobleClassics:Newintroductionscommissionedfromtoday'stopwritersandscholarsBiographiesoftheauthorsChronologiesofcontemporaryhistorical,biographical,andculturaleventsFootnotesandendnotesSelectivediscussionsofimitations,parodies,poems,books,plays,paintings,operas,statuary,andfilmsinspiredbytheworkCommentsbyotherfamousauthorsStudyquestionstochallengethereader'sviewpointsandexpectationsBibliographiesforfurtherreadingIndices&Glossaries,whenappropriateAlleditionsarebeautifullydesignedandareprintedtosuperiorspecifications;someincludeillustrationsofhistoricalinterest.Barnes&NobleClassicspullstogetheraconstellationofinfluences—biographical,historical,andliterary—toenricheachreader'sunderstandingoftheseenduringworks.Oneofthefinestsatireseverwritten,Voltaire’sCandidesavagelyskewersthisvery“optimistic”approachtolifeasashamefullyinadequateresponsetohumansuffering.TheswiftandlivelytalefollowstheabsurdlymelodramaticadventuresoftheyouthfulCandide,whoisforcedintothearmy,flogged,shipwrecked,betrayed,robbed,separatedfromhisbelovedCunégonde,andtorturedbytheInquisition.AsCandideexperiencesandwitnessescalamityuponcalamity,hebeginstodiscoverthat—contrarytotheteachingsofhistutor,Dr.Pangloss—allisnotalwaysforthebest.Aftermanytrials,travails,andincrediblereversalsoffortune,Candideandhisfriendsfinallyretiretogethertoasmallfarm,wheretheydiscoverthatthesecretofhappinessissimply“tocultivateone’sgarden,”aphilosophythatrejectsexcessiveoptimismandmetaphysicalspeculationinfavorofthemostbasicpragmatism.Filledwithwit,intelligence,andanabundanceofdarkhumor,Candideisrelentlessandunsparinginitsattacksuponcorruptionandhypocrisy—inreligion,government,philosophy,science,andevenromance.Ultimately,thiscelebratedworkteachesusthatitispossibletochallengeblindoptimismwithoutlosingthewilltoliveandpursueahappylife.GitaMayisProfessorofFrenchatColumbiaUniversity.ShehaspublishedextensivelyontheFrenchEnlightenment,eighteenth-centuryaesthetics,thenovelandautobiography,andwomeninliterature,history,andthearts.