This little piece of Enlightenment satire has remained in print ever since, frequently cited as one of the most influential books ever written. By the measure of any publishing epoch, Candide was a bestseller, its author becoming one of the first writers in history to achieve international celebrity and commercial success on a level that we would recognize today. New editions immediately sprang up, reaching double figures by the end of the year and including three separate English translations. The Advocate General of Paris declared the novella to be ‘contrary to religion and morals’, and by the end of the month, the Parisian parliament and the Grand Council of Geneva had both banned the book, seizing and destroying all the printed copies they could find. The latter happened quickly in any event. This was in part to shift as many copies as possible before it was pirated, but mostly to make it difficult for the authorities to ban it. When Voltaire’s Candide, ou l’Optimisme was (pseudonymously) published in February 1759, it was simultaneously released in the three great publishing centres of Continental Europe: Geneva, Amsterdam, and Paris. Running and Laughing: ‘Candide’, God, and the Meaning of Life
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