Zadig - or - The Book of Fate

Zadig, is a famous novel written by Voltaire. It tells the story of Zadig, a philosopher in ancient Babylonia. Zadig is on of the books where the lead character performs feats of analysis and is often sighted as the insparation of the first detective story -The Murders in the Rue Morgue written by Edgar Allan Poe. The problems faced by Zadig are often thinly disguised references to social and political problems of Voltaire's own day.

The book is philosophical in nature, and presents human life as in the hands of a destiny beyond human control. It is a story of religious and metaphysical orthodoxy, both of which Voltaire challenges with his presentation of the moral revolution taking place in Zadig himself. Voltaire's skillful use of the literary devices of contradiction and juxtaposition are shown in beautiful form in this prose. After Candide, it is considered one of his most celebrated works.