"The first-person narrative relates the coming-of-age of Pip (Philip Pirrip). Reared in the marshes of Kent by his disagreeable sister and her sweet-natured husband, the blacksmith Joe Gargery, the young Pip one day helps a convict to escape. Later he is sent to live with Miss Havisham, a woman driven half-mad years earlier by her lover's departure on their wedding day....When an anonymous benefactor makes it possible for Pip to go to London for an...

All in all, it's a delightful little package, sure to be a favorite of fans of the enlightenment or despotic oligarchs seeking tips and tricks to increase their fan base."--BOOK JACKET. "With Candide, Voltaire bumptiously skewered the fashionable misinterpretation of the doctrine of philosophical optimism, unerringly offending kings, scientists, fanaticals, publishers, journalists, and even priests; composed in a mere three days, Candide's capacity...