The Penguin Book of French Short Stories vol. 1 : From Marie de France to Marcel Proust /anglais (Cietie vāki)

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.