VOLTAIRE'S ROMANCES: 20+ Novels, Short Stories, Satires & Fables (Illustrated) (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Enlightenment satires and philosophical tales on dogma, liberty, and reasonBy Voltaire
Length31h 50m
About this audiobook
Voltaire's Romances gathers the philosopher's most agile works of imaginative prose: contes philosophiques, satirical tales, fables, and brief romances in which wit becomes an instrument of inquiry. From the restless irony of Candide and the orientalized moral testing of Zadig to the cosmic perspective of Micromégas, these narratives compress Enlightenment debate into brisk plots, lucid prose, and devastating comic reversals. The illustrated format further emphasizes their theatrical clarity and enduring visual suggestiveness. Voltaire—François-Marie Arouet—was formed by exile, censorship, courtly patronage, and relentless controversy. His encounters with English constitutionalism, Newtonian science, religious intolerance, and European despotism sharpened the skeptical intelligence behind these works. Rather than composing abstract treatises alone, he chose fiction as a flexible vehicle for attacking fanaticism, metaphysical complacency, cruelty, and abuses of power while preserving the pleasures of narrative invention. This collection is recommended to readers seeking both literary brilliance and intellectual provocation. It offers an ideal entrance into Voltaire's art: concise, elegant, irreverent, and morally serious beneath its laughter. Scholars, students, and general readers will find here a foundational archive of Enlightenment satire whose questions about optimism, justice, belief, and human folly remain unsettlingly contemporary.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- The Author Biography highlights personal milestones and literary influences that shape the entire body of writing.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Audiobook details
GenreHumor, Literary Classics
Length31 hrs 50 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateMar 2, 2016
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
2Introduction
3Author Biography
4Historical Context
5Synopsis (Selection)
Show all chaptersShow less
6CANDIDE: The Optimist
7PART I. (pt. 1)
8PART I. (pt. 2)
9PART II.
10ZADIG: The Book of Faith (pt. 1)
11ZADIG: The Book of Faith (pt. 2)
12MICROMEGAS
13THE HURON: Pupil of Nature1 (pt. 1)
14THE HURON: Pupil of Nature1 (pt. 2)
15THE WHITE BULL: A Satirical Romance
16THE MAN OF FORTY CROWNS
17THE PRINCESS OF BABYLON (pt. 1)
18THE PRINCESS OF BABYLON (pt. 2)
19THE SAGE AND THE ATHEIST
20MEMNON THE PHILOSOPHER
21THE BLACK AND THE WHITE
22THE WORLD AS IT GOES
23ANDRÉ DES TOUCHES AT SIAM
24BABABEC
25JEANNOT AND COLIN
26THE TRAVELS OF SCARMENTADO1
27A CONVERSATION WITH A CHINESE
28PLATO'S DREAM
29PLEASURE IN HAVING NO PLEASURE
30AN ADVENTURE IN INDIA
31THE GOOD BRAHMIN
32THE TWO COMFORTERS
33ANCIENT FAITH AND FABLE
34THE STUDY OF NATURE
35A DIALOGUE BETWEEN MARCUS AURELIUS AND A RECOLLET FRIAR
36DIALOGUE BETWEEN A BRAHMIN AND A JESUIT
37DIALOGUES BETWEEN LUCRETIUS AND POSIDONIUS
38DIALOGUE BETWEEN A CLIENT AND HIS LAWYER
39DIALOGUE BETWEEN MADAME DE MAINTENON AND MADEMOISELLE DE L’ENCLOS1
40DIALOGUE BETWEEN A SAVAGE AND A BACHELOR OF ARTS
41VOLTAIRE: HIS LIFE AND WORKS (Biography)
42PREFACE
43EARLY LIFE
44HEGIRA TO ENGLAND
45EXAMPLES FROM ENGLAND
46AT CIREY
47“CANDIDE”
48THE ENCYCLOPÆDIA
49LAST DAYS
50HIS CHARACTER AND SERVICES
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