Candide

Publisher Marketing:"Candide," published simultaneously in five European capitals in 1759, became an instant bestseller and is now regarded as one of the key texts of the enlightenment. Voltaire s preoccupations with evil and with various kinds of human folly and intolerance found a perfect vehicle in the philosophical tale. A master storyteller, he combined often wildly entertaining action with profoundly serious sense, parodying the traditional chivalric and oriental tales with which his public was more familiar to create a witty allegory of a young man whose optimism gives way to disillusionment after a series of terrible misfortunes." Contributor Bio:  Voltaire Voltaire (Francois-Marie Arouet) (1694--1778) was one of the key thinkers of the European Enlightenment. Of his many works, "Candide" remains the most popular. Peter Constantine was awarded the 1998 PEN Translation Award for "Six Early Stories "by Thomas Mann and the 1999 National Translation Award for "The Undiscovered Chekhov: Forty-three New Stories." Widely acclaimed for his recent translation of the complete works of Isaac Babel, he also translated Gogol's "Taras Bulba" and Tolstoy's "The Cossacks "for the Modern Library. His translations of fiction and poetry have appeared in many publications, including "The New Yorker, Harper's," and "Paris Review. "He lives in New York City. Contributor Bio:  Davenport, Jack Jack Davenport is an English actor best known for his roles in the television series "This Life", "Coupling", "Smash, " and as James Norrington in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films. In addition to film and theater, he has lent his voice to many audiobooks and voice-overs for commercials. Some of his audiobook credits include "A Clockwork Orange", "Black Dogs", "Candide", and several others.