Candide or Optimism

First published in 1759, this philosophical tale follows Candide, a naive youth raised in the Westphalian castle of Thunder-ten-Tronckh on the doctrine that this is the best of all possible worlds. Expelled after a kiss, he is conscripted, shipwrecked, and swept through Europe and the Americas, repeatedly meeting his tutor Pangloss, his beloved Cunegonde, and the pessimistic scholar Martin. Wars, the Lisbon disaster, slavery, and court corruption test the optimistic formula. Candide moves from one catastrophe to the next, accumulating companions who each offer a theory of how to live. The book is a satirical voyage, not a romance that rests on a single country.

Bound in maroon Nigerian goatskin blocked with a gilt cover and spine title design. Dark green endpapers. Grey slipcase emblazoned with gilt title across all sides. (Sold out in 3 weeks).