'The prince of philosophical novels' John Updike In Candide, Voltaire threw down an audacious challenge to the philosophical views of the Enlightenment to create one of the most glorious satires of the eighteenth century. His eponymous hero is an innocent young man whose tutor, Pangloss, has instilled in him the belief that 'all is for the best'. But when his love for the Baron's rosy-cheeked daughter is discovered, Candide is cast out to make his own fortune. As he and his various companions roam over the world, an outrageous series of disasters - earthquakes, syphilis, the Inquisition - sorely test the young hero's optimism, holding a mirror up to all fanatics, zealots and moral reformers of humankind. Translated and Edited by Theo Cuffe with an Introduction by Michael Wood

In this glorious satire, Voltaire brilliantly challenges the idea current in his day that 'all is for the best in the best of all worlds'.

The naïve Candide is literally kicked out of his childhood home when unfairly accused of sexual attentions towards his idol Lady Cunégonde. Yet Pangloss, the learned philosopher, has taught him the positive notion that all is for the best. And throughout his hilarious adventures and misfortunes, Candide remains true to Pangloss's creed, even when faced with ridiculous examples of injustice, suffering and despair. His incessant optimism appears to be justified in El Dorado, a Utopian land in which money and possessions are deemed worthless, yet ironically Candide is restless to leave this ideal society in search of worldly fulfilment.

Voltaire's scathing attack on vain and dreamy philosophizing remains as controversial and entertaining today as on its first publication in 1759.

Also known as the Lettres anglaises ou philosophiques, Voltaire's response to his exile in England offered the French public of 1734 a panoramic view of British culture. Perceiving them as a veiled attack against the ancien regime, however, the French government ordered the letters burned and Voltaire persecuted.