Not to be ignored are Voltaire's own philosophical tales written prior to Candide, and most particularly Histoire des voyages de Scarmentado (1756), which M. Lanson called a kind of preliminary sketch for Candide. There are in this short prose narrative significant elements that anticipate several found in Voltaire's masterpiece. The Histoire also has as its framework the rapid journey of adventure and disappointment peculiar to most of the author's fiction. The hero visited many of the same countries Candide did — France, England, Spain, Holland, Turkey, and North Africa. Moreover, certain plot elements closely resemble ones in Candide. The lady Fatele, with her three suitors, Scarmentado among them, suggests Cunégonde with her three — Candide, the Grand Inquisitor, and Don Issachar. Scarmentado witnessed an execution just as Candide did that of Admiral Byng. Finally, both protagonists had experiences with pirates and both became involved in the Inquisition.
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