Candide, or the Optimism
Voltaire
Is this the best of all possible worlds? The title character in Voltaire’s classic novel, Candide, doesn’t ask the question so much as he’s force fed the answer. Raised in a sheltered environment with the words of Liebnizian positivism dropped into his mouth by his tutor, Dr. Pangloss, Candide accepts that all is for the best. Armed with this sunny belief, he leaves the comfort of home and hits the big bad world only to duck and cover as the big bad world hits back again and again. He begins to think that “If this is the best of all possible worlds, then the Creator is an under-achiever”. Subjected to trial after trial and witnessing the many injustices that are the fact and fabric of the world of experience, Candide, as per Voltaire, learns that perhaps the best that one can do is to tend one’s own garden. Written over the course of three days in the middle of the 18th Century (the Age of Enlightenment), this brilliant satire delivers an eloquent argument in a matter of fact voice bathed in the humor that stings with the barb of truth. (Summary by Michael Hogan)
Play sample:
Product Details
| Read by: | Ted Delorme |
| Length: | 4 hours and 1 minute |
| Type: | Solo reading |
| Media: | MP3 CD |
| Package: | Paper sleeve |
| Item No.: | CD-1052 |
| List Price: | $2.99 |
| Artwork: | Disc contains 300 dpi image files for printing |
| CD label art: | Includes both square JPG and round PNG formats |
| CD jewel case art: | Includes cover, inner insert, and J-card |
| DVD case art: | Includes wrapper for Amaray box and inner insert |
Credits
Production
Book Coordinator: Ted Delorme
Meta Coordinator: Kristin Hughes
Proof Listener: AnsWink
Artwork
Cover: "It is at this price that you eat sugar in Europe" 1787 from Candide, by Jean-Michel Moreau (March 26, 1741 – November 30, 1814).
DVD Inset: Portrait of Voltaire circa 1736.
DVD Insert: background image: Candide being swindled in Voltaire’s Candide (Paris : Sirène) 1759.
The Recordings
About MP3 Audio
This MP3 digital audiobook is duplicated on compact disc in the MP3 audio format and is designed to play on any computer. It will play on CD and DVD players that are designed with MP3 capability. The files contained in an MP3 CD can be imported and played on mobile devices such as the iPod, iPhone, iPad, Android tablets and smart phones and on PSP (Play Station Portable) and PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) devices. Your CD/DVD player or mobile device owner’s manual should specify whether the device has MP3 compatibility. If the device is not directly compatible with the MP3 Audio format, the files on the MP3 CD can be copied onto a computer drive and then played on the computer media player or transferred to a mobile device.
The Recordings
These recordings were made using the author’s original published work, which is in the public domain. The readings were recorded by members of Librivox.org, which has generously made the recordings available to the public domain. While Librivox condones the sale and distribution of these recordings, it is not associated with the management or operations of MP3 Audiobook Classics. The audio files have been lightly edited and have been engineered using professional audio tools for maximum sonic quality. We spend considerable time and effort to ensure the recordings are free of noise, equalized for maximum listener pleasure, and that tracks are leveled and normalized to provide a consistent listening experience.
Table of Contents
| Track | Chapter | Length |
| 01 |
Introduction | 7:58 |
| 02 | I. How Candide was brought up in a Magnificent Castle, and how he was expelled thence |
6:03 |
| 03 | II. What became of Candide among the Bulgarians | 5:43 |
| 04 | III. How Candide made his escape from the Bulgarians, and what afterwards became of him | 5:32 |
| 05 | IV. How Candide found his old Master Pangloss, and what happened to them | 8:14 |
| 06 | V. Tempest, Shipwreck, Earthquake, and what became of Doctor Pangloss, Candide, and James the Anabaptist | 6:26 |
| 07 | VI. How the Portuguese made a Beautiful Auto-da-fé, to prevent any further Earthquakes: and how Candide was publicly whipped | 3:20 |
| 08 | VII. How the Old Woman took care of Candide and how he found the Object he loved | 4:53 |
| 09 | VIII. The History of Cunegonde | 6:58 |
| 10 | IX. What became of Cunegonde, Candide, the Grand Inquisitor, and the Jew | 4:05 |
| 11 | X. In what distress Candide, Cunegonde, and the Old Woman arrived at Cadiz; and of their Embarkation | 4:49 |
| 12 | XI. History of the Old Woman | 8:38 |
| 13 | XII. The Adventures of the Old Woman continued | 9:40 |
| 14 | XIII. How Candide was forced away from his fair Cunegonde and the Old Woman | 5:36 |
| 15 | XIV. How Candide and Cacambo were received by the Jesuits of Paraguay | 8:00 |
| 16 | XV. How Candide killed the brother of his dear Cunegonde | 5:06 |
| 17 | XVI. Adventures of the Two Travellers, with Two Girls, Two Monkeys, and the Savages called Oreillons | 8:20 |
| 18 | XVII. Arrival of Candide and his Valet at El Dorado, and what they saw there | 8:27 |
| 19 | XVIII. What they saw in the Country of El Dorado | 13:11 |
| 20 | XIX. What happened to them at Surinam and how Candide got acquainted with Martin | 11:37 |
| 21 | XX. What happened at Sea to Candide and Martin | 6:01 |
| 22 | XXI. Candide and Martin, reasoning, draw near the Coast of France | 4:14 |
| 23 | XXII. What happened in France to Candide and Martin | 23:10 |
| 24 | XXIII. Candide and Martin touched upon the Coast of England, and what they saw there | 3:24 |
| 25 | XXIV. Of Paquette and Friar Giroflée | 10:51 |
| 26 | XXV. The Visit to Lord Pococurante a Noble Venetian | 12:53 |
| 27 | XXVI. Of a Supper which Candide and Martin took with Six Strangers, and who they were | 7:56 |
| 28 | XXVII. Candide's Voyage to Constantinople | 8:32 |
| 29 | XXVIII. What happened to Candide, Cunegonde, Pangloss, Martin,etc. | 6:27 |
| 30 | XXIX. How Candide found Cunegonde and the Old Woman again | 3:00 |
| 31 | XXX. The Conclusion | 11:39 |
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