Voltaire

The texts published by the STFM provide the richest and most varied panorama of French literature from the Renaissance to modern times: alongside the great names of literature (Ronsard, Corneille, Voltaire or Chateaubriand) and major works and collections (Du Bellay, Rotrou, Saint-Evremond, Scarron, Tristan l'Hermite), there are lesser known authors (Angot de l'Eperonniere, Boindin, Mareschal) and many rare texts, often in their first modern publication.

"Candide, ou l'Optimisme" is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. It begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Optimism by his mentor, Pangloss. The work describes the abrupt cessation of this lifestyle, followed by Candide's slow, painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Fran ois-Marie Arouet (21 November 1694 - 30 May 1778), known by his nom de plume Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, freedom of expression, free trade and separation of church and state.

From A to Z, the Penguin Drop Caps series collects 26 unique hardcovers--featuring cover art by Jessica Hische It all begins with a letter. Fall in love with Penguin Drop Caps, a new series of twenty-six collectible and hardcover editions, each with a type cover showcasing a gorgeously illustrated letter of the alphabet. In a design collaboration between Jessica Hische and Penguin Art Director Paul Buckley, the series features unique cover art by Hische, a superstar in the world of type design and illustration, whose work has appeared everywhere from Tiffany & Co. to Wes Anderson's recent film "Moonrise Kingdom" to Penguin's own bestsellers "Committed "and "Rules of Civility." With exclusive designs that have never before appeared on Hische's hugely popular Daily Drop Cap blog, the Penguin Drop Caps series launches with six perennial favorites to give as elegant gifts, or to showcase on your own shelves. V is for Voltaire. Voltaire's masterpiece belongs in the hands of every reader pondering our assumptions about human behavior and our place in the world. Voltaire tells of the ludicrous adventures and reversals of fortune of the naive Candide, who doggedly believes that "all is for the best" even when faced with injustice, suffering, and despair. A satirical challenge to the empty optimism prevalent in Voltaire's eighteenth-century society is both controversial and entertaining, but also vitally relevant today in our world pervaded by--as Candide would say--"the mania for insisting that all is well when all is by no means well."