Candide Candide. Born François-Marie Arouet, Voltaire (1694–1778), by the time of the Lisbon earthquake, was already a well-established author, known for his satirical wit. He had been made a member of the Académie Française in 1746. He was a deist, a strong proponent of religious freedom, and a critic of tyrannical governments. "Candide" became part of his large, diverse body of philosophical, political and artistic works expressing these views. More specifically, it was a model for the eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century novels called the "contes philosophiques". This genre, of which Voltaire was one of the founders, included previous works of his
Marie Besnard best writer. The 2006 television film "Marie Besnard, l'empoisonneuse" (Marie Besnard, the Poisoner), resulted in the 2007 Best Performance by an Actress Emmy Award for Muriel Robin in the title role. The English historian Richard Cobb presents a sympathetic portrait of Besnard in a lengthy essay in his book about French life, "A Second Identity" (1969). Marie Besnard Marie Besnard (15 August 1896 – 14 February 1980), also known as 'The Good Lady of Loudun', was accused serial poisoner in the mid-20th century. Besnard was first charged with multiple murder on July 21, 1949, under her maiden name, Marie Joséphine