Penguin Book of French Short Stories

This is a new book. Condition: Brand New.

A major new celebration of the French short story, spanning three centuries

'Nowhere have I witnessed real happiness, but surely it is to be found here...'

The short story has a rich tradition in French literature. This feast of an anthology celebrates its most famous practitioners, as well as newly translated writers ready for rediscovery. Here are decadent tales, 'bloody tales', fairy tales, detective stories and war stories. They are stories about the self and the other, husbands, wives and lovers, country and city, rich and poor.

The first volume spans four hundred years, taking the reader from the sixteenth century to the 'golden age' of the fin de si cle. Its pages are populated by lovers, phantoms, cardinals, labourers, enchanted statues, gentleman burglars, retired bureaucrats, panthers and parrots, in a cacophony of styles and voices. From the affairs of Madame de Lafayette to the polemic realism of Victor Hugo, the supernatural mystery of Guy de Maupassant to the dark sensuality of Rachilde, this is the place to start for lovers of French literature, new and old.

Edited and with an introduction by Patrick McGuinness, academic, writer and translator.

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Hardback
ISBN13: 9780241461990
Published: October 2022

Number of pages: 512
Width: 162 mm
Height: 240 mm
Depth: 44 mm

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd