The sensational bestseller-a parody of Voltaire's satire Candide-about the sexy naïf who only wants to truly give of herself.

Candy,that perfect, adorable, innocent girl, was born on Valentine's Day, andher Daddy says that's why she's so beautiful. At her College in Racine,Wisconsin, in Professor Mephisto's lecture on philosophy and how "deep and aching are the needs of man," Candy seems to take his pronouncement to heart, dedicating the rest of her days to, as Southern puts it, "bringing the sweet balm of her warmth to all those lonely men on her arduous path to spiritual enlightenment." There is the hunchback who causes her to cry out in wild abandon, "Your hump! Give me your hump!", the crazed gynecologist in the bar bathroom who "examines" her, the salacious aunt, her father's lecherous twin brother, and the nutty Cracker Foundation, where her guru initiates her into the mystical realmof "glandular mastery." It is in Tibet, during an earthquake, that a holy man and the Buddha together lead her to full . . . enlightenment.

Originallypublished under a pseudonym, this book had the unique honor of being banned in France, only to become one of the bestselling novels of 1960s America-one that brought Southern both fame and infamy. A book that, along with Lolita, broke the grip of American literary censorship, Candy leaves you tantalized, scandalized, and weak with laughter.

Thisebook features an illustrated biography of Terry Southern including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author's estate.

Terry Southern (1924-1995) was an American author and screenwriter. His satirical novels-including the bestselling cult classics Candy (1958) and The Magic Christian(1959)-established Southern as one of the leading literary voices of the sixties. He was also nominated for Academy Awards for his screenplays of Dr. Strangelove (written with Stanley Kubrick and Peter George) and Easy Rider (written with Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper). His other books include Flash and Filigree (1958), Red-Dirt Marijuana and Other Tastes (1967), Blue Movie (1970), and Texas Summer (1991). In later years, he wrote for Saturday Night Live and lectured on screenwriting at New York University and Columbia University.