The Voltaire Anthology: Candide, Zadig and Seventeen Plays - Hardcover

by Voltaire (Author), William F. Fleming (Translator)

This omnibus gathers Candide, Zadig, and seventeen of the most significant plays by Voltaire, presenting the philosophical wit and theatrical power that made him the most celebrated French dramatist of the eighteenth century.

Included are Brutus, Socrates, Alzire, Orestes, Catiline, Sémiramis, Pandora, The Scotch Woman, Nanine, The Prude, Mérope, Olympia, The Orphan of China, Mahomet, Amelia, OEdipus, and Mariamne-works that secured Voltaire's reputation on the Parisian stage and established him as one of the central literary voices of the Enlightenment.

While modern readers often encounter Voltaire primarily through his philosophical tale Candide, his dramatic works formed the foundation of his contemporary fame. These tragedies and comedies examine themes of tyranny, religious fanaticism, justice, honour, and moral reason, combining classical dramatic structure with the sharp intellectual critique characteristic of Enlightenment thought. Written for performance before Europe's most discerning audiences, they reveal a writer equally at home in satire, philosophical narrative, and high tragedy.

This Wilder Publications edition brings together Voltaire's major philosophical tales alongside his most important theatrical works in a single substantial volume, preserving texts that helped shape European intellectual and dramatic history.