This volume brings together six outstanding French tales, each by a different author, originally published between 1829 and 1886. Representing a variety of 10th-century literary trends (Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism, and even a foretaste of Symbolism), the stories include Mateo Falcone (by Prosper Mérimée), Sylvie (by Gérard de Nerval), Alphonse Daudet's La mule du Pape (The Pope's Mule), Gustave Flaubert's Hérodias (Herodias), Emile Zola's L'attaque du moulin (The Attack on the Mill), and Guy de Maupassant's Mademoiselle Perle (Miss Pearl). Editor and translator Stanley Appelbaum has provided accurate English interpretations (printed to align line-for-line with the French texts), an informative introduction, and notes on each selection.
This inexpensive edition provides a wonderful opportunity for students of French language and literature and anyone who loves short stories to sample a carefully chosen selection of the very best in the genre.