In response to the controversy surrounding the Lisbon earthquake and the question of blame, Voltaire wrote "On the Lisbon Disaster" in 1756. The poem aimed to reconcile the catastrophe with Leibnitzian optimism.

For historical context on Candide and Voltaire's broader works, refer to Peter Gay's Voltaire's Politics: The Poet as Realist.

One of Voltaire's inspirations for Candide was a work published in 1726 during his exile in Britain by his friend Jonathan Swift. Initially titled Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, this work is now known as Gulliver's Travels. It is a satire of 1720s Europe, narrated through Gulliver's adventures in various strange and wondrous lands.

Laurence Sterne's English satire of clergymen, titled A Political Romance (later renamed The History of a Good Warm Watch-Coat), was published in 1759. Sterne, a clergyman himself, is also the author of the stories about Tristram Shandy.

A stark contrast to Voltaire is evident in the works and persona of Samuel Johnson. Johnson's The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia, published in 1759, narrates how the Prince gathers scientists and philosophers to uncover the secrets of a happy life, only to realize he has squandered time he could have spent living.

George Orwell's brilliant anti-utopian satire, Animal Farm, published in 1945, lampoons revolutionary efforts when barn animals overthrow their human masters and establish a commune. However, the pigs seize power and enforce a dictatorship.