Candide Ou L'Optimisme

The Focus Student Editions are designed for French language courses in literature and culture. Prepared with non-native French speakers in mind, these editions include an introduction (in French), the complete work, and linguistic and cultural notes in French, a current bibliography and study questions.

Candide, Voltaire’s picaresque 1759 novel and masterpiece of French satire, follows a naïve young man on his disillusioning journey through life.  Candide’s fantastical adventures incorporate many actual historical events, such as the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 and the Seven Years’ War, as Voltaire parodies religion, governments, the military, philosophers,  and the philosophy of good and evil.

Candide, Voltaire's picaresque 1759 novel and masterpiece of French satire, follows a naïve young man on his disillusioning journey through life. Candide's fantastical adventures incorporate many actual historical events, such as the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 and the Seven Years' War, as Voltaire parodies religion, governments, the military, philosophers, and the philosophy of good and evil.

Eileen M. Angelini (Ph.D. Brown University) is Professor of French at Canisius College and Fulbright Scholar. She has won multiple research grants from the U.S., French, and Canadian governments. She is a frequent presenter at national and regional conferences and the author of publications on literary analysis and on pedagogy. Her pedagogical publications focus on second language acquisition, the professions, and cross-cultural communication. Dr. Angelini is a Question Leader for the AP French Language and Culture Examination, a Senior Reviewer for the AP Audit, and a College Board Consultant.

Myrna Bell Rochester (Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles) has taught at UCLA and at Stanford University. She is the co-author of college textbooks and educational materials, including several annotated texts in French literature for Focus Publishing.