Candide, ou l'Optimisme is a French satire first published in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best (1759); Candide: or, The Optimist (1762); and Candide: Optimism (1947). It begins with a young man, Candide, who is living a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise and being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism by his mentor, Pr...

A compelling argument for the necessity for art in life, Nietzsche's first book is fuelled by his enthusiasms for Greek tragedy, for the philosophy of Schopenhauer and for the music of Wagner, to whom this work was dedicated. Nietzsche outlined a distinction between its two central forces: the Apolline, representing beauty and order, and the Dionysiac, a primal or ecstatic reaction to the sublime. He believed the combination of these states produced the highest forms of music and tragic dr...

"The essays contained in this volume treat of various subjects. With the exception of perhaps one we must consider all these papers as fragments. Written during the early Seventies, and intended mostly as prefaces, they are extremely interesting, since traces of Nietzsche's later tenets—like Slave and Master morality, the Superman—can be found everywhere. But they are also very valuable on account of the young philosopher's daring and able handling of difficult and abstruse subjects. "Trut...

In 1869, at the age of twenty-five, the precociously brilliant Friedrich Nietzsche was appointed to a professorship of classical philology at the University of Basel. He seemed marked for a successful and conventional academic career. Then the philosophy of Schopenhauer and the music of Wagner transformed his sense of purpose. The genius of such thinkers and makers—like the genius of the ancient Greeks—was the only touchstone for true understanding. How then was education to answer to such...

One of the most celebrated and popular historical romances ever written, The Three Musketeers tell the story of the early adventures of the young Gascon gentleman d’Artagnan and his three friends from the regiment of the King’s Musketeers: Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. Under the watchful eye of their patron M. de Treville, the four defend the honour of the regiment against the guards of the Cardinal Richelieu and the honor of the queen against the machinations of the Cardinal himself as the ...

Embark on a swashbuckling adventure with "The Three Musketeers," a captivating part of "The d'Artagnan Romances" by Alexandre Dumas. This audiobook transports you to 17th-century France, where the heroic d'Artagnan joins forces with the charismatic musketeers to protect the throne and navigate a world of intrigue and swordplay. Dumas' rich narrative weaves together action, humor, and romance, bringing to life unforgettable characters and daring escapades. With its themes of loyalty, honor,...

Part local legend of a dark and dangerous Wolf-Leader, part childhood memories of his home near Villers-Cotterets, in Aisne, Dumas here penned a chilling supernatural encounter between man and the devil. Our hero, Thibault the shoemaker, is beaten on the orders of the Lord of Vez for hunting in the lord's forest. With Thibault's resentment at his treatment by the world at its height, the devil sees his chance and, in the guise of a wolf, proposes a deal which Thibault accepts; the ever ava...

This 5th volume of the Marie Antoinette Romances begins after the fall of the Bastille and the March on Versailles, which forced Louis XVI and his court to be escorted back to Paris. In Paris, political factions battle over the fate of the nation, the royal family, and anyone with royalist sympathies. Our heroes (like Ange Pitou) and our anti-heroes (like Gilbert) must navigate the blood-streaked landscape while keeping their necks out of the guillotine. All the while, the prophetic Balsam...

This 4th volume of the Marie Antoinette Romances begins several years after the close of "The Queen's Necklace." It describes the events leading up to and including the storming of the Bastile. Past plots of Count Balsamo (aka, Cogliostro) to destroy the French monarchy are resurrected by the mysterious Dr. Gilbert – a student of Balsamo's occult arts and the Enlightenment philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Considered by many critics to be a highlight of the Marie Antoinette Romances, Dum...

Twenty Years After (French: Vingt ans après) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized from January to August 1845. A book of The d'Artagnan Romances, it is a sequel to The Three Musketeers (1844) and precedes the 1847-1850 novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne (which includes the sub-plot Man in the Iron Mask).The novel follows events in France during the Fronde, during the childhood reign of Louis XIV, and in England n...

Friedrich Nietzsche's genealogical analysis in The Genealogy of Morals is an exploration of the historical development of certain moral values, specifically those associated with notions of justice, honour, and good. Taking a critical stance against the Enlightenment-era reception of Kantian morality, Nietzsche argues that these values were formed through a process of power dynamics rather than abstract principles. Read in English, unabridged.

**“If Carpentier is ever to get a new reading in English, it should be now. . . . West’s translations . . . reintroduce English-language readers to this giant of Latin American fiction.” —Natasha Wimmer, The New York Review of BooksThe best-known book by Cuba’s most important twentieth-century novelist, in its first new English translation in more than sixty years and featuring a new introduction by Leonardo PaduraA Penguin Classic**Dissatisfied with his em...