Author: Various Authors

Publisher: Library of Alexandria

Published:

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 1465527656

French literature is perhaps more abundant than any other in those short works of imagination that are called in France contes or nouvelles, in order to contrast them with those extended narratives for which the name of romans is reserved. As far back as the Middle Ages, during the period of the interminable chansons de geste, then of the romances of chivalry, not less diffuse, which succeeded them, the French took pleasure in telling short stories, of which some, such as Aucassin and Nicolette, still retain, for those whom their antiquated language does not repel, much interest and charm. In like manner, when the Renaissance ends, in the period of the ample burlesque epic of Rabelais, the Queen of Navarre, in the tales of her Heptameron, vies with the novellieri of Italy. In the following century, during which Spanish influence prevailed, we hardly find any more short stories appearing in separate form, but novelists, in the manner of Cervantes in his Don Quixote, interpolate some here and there in the plot of their main works of fiction, as halts and resting-places for the mind of the reader: like D’Urfé in his Astrea, or Madame De La Fayette in Zaïde; like, again, Le Sage in his Gil Blas at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Later on, the eighteenth century will come to restore the genre to its sway, and Voltaire will be a master in it; nevertheless he will hardly cultivate it without making it serve philosophical purposes. Along with him, more than one minor story-teller of merit, such as the Chevalier De Boufflers, could be named, but not without regret that their wit and elegance should be employed in the service of a somewhat libertine morality. From the rapid sketch which precedes, the reasons, whether of substance or of form, which prevent us from including in our selection any of the short stories which were written before the nineteenth century, will easily be deduced. Besides, it is only then that the genre flourishes in all directions, and that the writers who cultivate it produce the most numerous, finished and varied nouvelles and contes. The names of the twelve authors selected were obviously all imposed upon us; but our embarrassment commenced when it was necessary to choose one single tale from their works. It is certain, for instance, that we might have preferred, in the case of Alphonse Daudet, a page in which his trembling sensibility was expressed, and not one of those into which he has rather put his witty Provençal gaiety; and some people may regret that Guy de Maupassant is represented here by a sentimental tale rather than one of those stories into which he has poured his bitter realism and his black pessimism. To those who might be inclined to reproach us, we would answer that we have been guided, not only by the wish to present always the most characteristic work of each author, but by that of giving to our selection the greatest variety of tone among the narratives thus placed in juxtaposition, and also by the desire never to lose sight of any moral proprieties. We have only imposed upon ourselves one absolute rule: only to offer here perfect, indisputable masterpieces. We hope that no one will question our success in this.