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Candide : Or Optimism - Voltaire

Candide

Or Optimism

By: Voltaire, John Butt (Translator, Introduction by)

Paperback | 30 June 1950 | Edition Number 1

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With its vibrant new translation, perceptive introduction, and witty packaging, this new edition of Voltaire's masterpiece belongs in the hands of every reader pondering our assumptions about human behavior and our place in the world. Candide tells of the hilarious adventures of the na‹ve Candide, who doggedly believes that "all is for the best" even when faced with injustice, suffering, and despair. Controversial and entertaining, Candide is a book that is vitally relevant today in our world pervaded by-as Candide would say-"the mania for insisting that all is well when all is by no means well."

  • A Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition with French flaps and rough front
  • Completely new translation and introduction
  • Amazing cover art from one of the most beloved modern comic artists


@MoYoLawn Ever wonder how we get across the world so quickly in this book? Continental flies six times daily from Eldorado to Paris.

From Twitterature: The World's Greatest Books in Twenty Tweets or Less

Industry Reviews
Winner of the 2012 Fifty Books/Fifty Covers show, organized by Design Observer in association with AIGA and Designers & Books Winner of the 2014 Type Directors Club Communication Design Award

Praise for Penguin Drop Caps:

"[Penguin Drop Caps] convey a sense of nostalgia for the tactility and aesthetic power of a physical book and for a centuries-old tradition of beautiful lettering." --Fast Company

"Vibrant, minimalist new typographic covers.... Bonus points for the heartening gender balance of the initial selections." --Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

"The Penguin Drop Caps series is a great example of the power of design. Why buy these particular classics when there are less expensive, even free editions of Great Expectations? Because they're beautiful objects. Paul Buckley and Jessica Hische's fresh approach to the literary classics reduces the design down to typography and color. Each cover is foil-stamped with a cleverly illustrated letterform that reveals an element of the story. Jane Austen's A (Pride and Prejudice) is formed by opulent peacock feathers and Charlotte Bronte's B (Jane Eyre) is surrounded by flames. The complete set forms a rainbow spectrum prettier than anything else on your bookshelf." --Rex Bonomelli, The New York Times

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Other Editions and Formats

Hardcover

Published: 14th April 2019

Hardcover

Published: 26th June 2020

Hardcover

Published: 13th August 2020

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