French Tales

Description

French Tales is a collection of twenty-two translated stories associated with the twenty-two regions of France. The book, which includes both well-known and little-known writers, for example Prosper Merimee in the nineteenth century and Anne-Marie Garat in the twenty-first, affords readers a panoramic view of French society and culture, reflecting, as it does, its variety and diversity from Brittany to Corsica. Writers include among others Maupassant, Zola, Annie Saumont, Marcel Ayme, Didier Daeninckx and Stephane Emond. The subject-matter ranges from stories about marriage, the First World War and homelessness to house-buying, childhood and honour-killing. Following the model of Paris Tales, also translated by Helen Constantine, each story is illustrated with a striking photograph and there is a map indicating the position of the French regions. There is an introduction and notes to accompany the stories and a selection of Further Reading. The book will appeal to people who love travelling or are armchair travellers, as much as to those who love France and things French.

Table of contents

Introduction; 1. BRETAGNE; You should have changed at Dol; 2. BASSE-NORMANDIE; Made for Two; 3. HAUTE-NORMANDIE; A Norman; 4. NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS; The Voiceless; 5. PICARDIE; The Garden of Illusions; 6. ILE-DE-FRANCE; Rue de L'Evangile; 7. CHAMPAGNE ARDENNE; Light Souls; 8. LORRAINE; The House in the Woods; 9. ALSACE; The Phantom of Rainbow Street; 10. PAYS-DE-LA-LOIRE; The Saviours of the White Wine; 11. CENTRE; The Cattle Man; 12. BOURGOGNE; Where are the children?; 13. FRANCHE-COMTE; The Vanishing; 14. POITOU-CHARENTES; Julie; 15. LIMOUSIN; Four Walls; 16. AUVERGNE; A Mother's Tale; 17. RHONE-ALPES; The Bull from Jouvet; 18. AQUITAINE; We can't go on like this; 19. MIDI-PYRENEES; The Flood; 20. LANGUEDOC-ROUSSILLON; The Beaucaire Coach; 21. PROVENCE-ALPES-COTE D'AZUR; The Pope's Mule; 22. CORSE; Mateo Falcone; Notes on the Stories; Further Reading; Map