The characters of the story – Candide, his friend Cunégonde and his mentor Pangloss – go around the world; they are present at the Seven Year’s War, seizure of Azov by Russians, Lisbon earthquake, and even visit a fairy-tale land ...

This story is a philosophical, romantic satire, attacking religious mania, the foibles of people in general, the burdens of being virtuous and happiness.

French Enlightenment thinker Voltaire saw much to admire in Russian emperor Peter the Great. Most significantly, Voltaire admired Peter's tireless efforts to drag Russia from its medieval mindset and thrust it into an age of rationality.

Candide by Voltaire

The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow, painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

Zadig Or, The Book of Fate Voltaire - Zadig; or, The Book of Fate (French: Zadig ou la Destinée; 1747) is a novella and work of philosophical fiction by the Enlightenment writer Voltaire.