Audio only
Length4h 3m
About this audiobook
"Candide" is a satirical novel published in 1759 that is the best-known work by Voltaire. This comedic novel is not only an important work of literature but also one of the top-10 banned books of all time. It is a savage denunciation of metaphysical optimism that reveals a world of horrors and folly.
Voltaire's "Candide", a controversial work counted among the greatest books of European literature, is both accessible to the average reader and certain to make you laugh. "Candide" is all the more remarkable in that its comedy is derived from some of the most tragic characters and situations imaginable.
"Candide" was influenced by various atrocities of the mid-18th century, most notably the devastating Lisbon earthquake of 1755, the outbreak of the horrific Seven Years’ War in the German states, and the unjust execution of the English Admiral John Byng. This philosophical tale is often hailed as a paradigmatic text of the Enlightenment, but it is also an ironic attack on the optimistic beliefs of the Enlightenment. Voltaire’s critique is directed at Leibniz’s principle of sufficient reason, which maintains that nothing can be so without there being a reason why it is so. The consequence of this principle is the belief that the actual world must be the best one humanly possible.
Candide (the name refers to purity and frankness) is the tale’s main character. He embodies the philosophical idea of optimism that Voltaire intends to oppose.
Candide has a series of increasingly bizarre adventures. After being banished from his childhood home, he joins the army, flees the Inquisition, travels to South America, finds the mythical city of El Dorado, and then reunites with his beloved Cunegonde...
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.0 (344.6K)
Includes Goodreads, StoryGraph, LibraryThing, Amazon
GenreHumor, Mystery and Thriller, Literary Classics
Length4 hrs 3 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateMar 16, 2019
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Chapter 1 - How Candide Was Brought Up in a Magnificent Castle and How He Was Driven Thence
2Chapter 2 - What Befell Candide among the Bulgarians
3Chapter 3 - How Candide Escaped from the Bulgarians and What Befell Him Afterward
4Chapter 4 - How Candide Found His Old Master Pangloss Again and What Happened to Him
5Chapter 5 - A Tempest, a Shipwreck, an Earthquake, and What Else Befell Dr. Pangloss, Candide, and James, the Anabaptist
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6Chapter 6 - How the Portuguese Made a Superb Auto-De-Fe to Prevent Any Future Earthquakes, and How Candide Underwent Public Flagellation
7Chapter 7 - How the Old Woman Took Care Of Candide, and How He Found the Object of His Love
8Chapter 8 - Cunegund's Story
9Chapter 9 - What Happened to Cunegund, Candide, the Grand Inquisitor, and the Jew
10Chapter 10 - In What Distress Candide, Cunegund, and the Old Woman Arrive at Cadiz, and Of Their Embarkation
11Chapter 11 - The History of the Old Woman
12Chapter 12 - The Adventures of the Old Woman Continued
13Chapter 13 - How Candide Was Obliged to Leave the Fair Cunegund and the Old Woman
14Chapter 14 - The Reception Candide and Cacambo Met with among the Jesuits in Paraguay
15Chapter 15 - How Candide Killed the Brother of His Dear Cunegund
16Chapter 16 - What Happened to Our Two Travelers with Two Girls, Two Monkeys, and the Savages, Called Oreillons
17Chapter 17 - What Happened to Our Two Candide and His Valet Arrive in the Country of El Dorado-What They Saw There
18Chapter 18 - What They Saw in the Country of El Dorado
19Chapter 19 - What Happened to Them at Surinam, and How Candide Became Acquainted with Martin
20Chapter 20 - What Befell Candide and Martin on Their Passage
21Chapter 21 - Candide and Martin, While Thus Reasoning with Each Other, DrawNear to the Coast of France
22Chapter 22 - What Happened to Candide and Martin in France
23Chapter 23 - Candide and Martin Touch upon the English Coast-What They See There
24Chapter 24 - Of Pacquette and Friar Giroflee
25Chapter 25 - Candide and Martin Pay a Visit to Seignor Pococurante, a Noble Venetian
26Chapter 26 - Candide and Martin sup with six sharpers - who they were
27Chapter 27 - Candide's Voyage to Constantinople
28Chapter 28 - What Befell Candide, Cunegund, Pangloss, Martin, etc.
29Chapter 29 - What Manner Candide Found Miss Cunegund and the Old Woman Again
30Chapter 30 - Conclusion
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