The Penguin Book of French Short Stories: 1

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A SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022

‘Beautiful and deep … a sumptuous treat for any book lover’ The Independent

‘There is so much to discover in these stories – both history and food for short story lovers everywhere’ Irish Times

A major new celebration of the French short story

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 siècle. 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.If you’re in the market for something beautiful and deep, The Penguin Book of French Short Stories is a sumptuous treat for any book lover.—Martin Chilton, The Independent

Tales with a certain ooh la la … an eclectic, often steamy collection charting the history of the French short story [with] some gems by less famous figures … high marks for quality and variety.—Matthew Reisz, The Observer

A French version of The Thousand and One Nights … Both volumes tell us something new about writing in French … Such a creative arrangement forces us to rethink what we expect a short story to be or do … Perhaps all short fiction reminds us that the end is nigh, in which case not the least of Patrick McGuinness’s achievements is that of showing us how to read and live accordingly.—Annabel Kim, Times Literary Supplement

It’s hard to imagine a better introduction to French literature than this glorious two-volume bran tub of short fiction … outstanding masterpieces all … There’s a welcome playfulness throughout.—John Self, The Guardian

Patrick McGuinness’s magisterial anthology teems with universes from each of its 84 authors … There is so much to discover in these stories – both history and food for short story lovers everywhere. —Irish Times

Impeccably edited by Patrick McGuinness. The first volume stretches from the 16th century to the early 20th century … Volume two takes us from there to the early 21st century, featuring more women and non-white authors than the first volume. Treat yourself: buy both.—Tomiwa Owolade, Sunday Times

What a collection it is … Both volumes fizz with the enthusiasm with which McGuinness has assembled stories that range across centuries and continents … This will surely turn out to be the definitive anthology of French-language short fiction.—Charlie Connelly, The New EuropeanPatrick McGuinness is Professor of French and Comparative Literature at the University of Oxford, and a Fellow of St Anne’s College. Born in Tunisia and raised in Belgium, he is a poet, novelist and translator. His novel The Last Hundred Days was longlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for the 2011 Costa First Novel Award, and his second novel, Throw me to the Wolves, won the 2020 Encore Award. His other books include three collections of poems, The Canals of Mars (2004), Jilted City (2010), Blood Feather (2023) and a memoir, Other People’s Countries (2015), which won the Duff Cooper Prize. He was made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 2011, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

David Bellos is Meredith Howland Pyne Professor of French Literature at Princeton University, where he also teaches Comparative Literature. He is the author of many books and articles on nineteenth-century fiction, alongside biographies of three icons of French culture in the twentieth century: Georges Perec, Jacques Tati and Romain Gary. He is also a well-known translator and the author of Is That a Fish in Your Ear? The Amazing Adventure of Translation. David Bellos was recently awarded the rank of officier in the Ordre National des Arts et des Lettres for his services to French culture.GB

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