Three Tales (Hesperus Classics)

by Gustave Flaubert (Author), HowardCurtis(translator) (Author), Margaret Drabble (foreword ) (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2009

  $9.56

• Used

  Paperback
  1991

  $3.51

  Three Tales offers an excellent introduction to the work of one of the world's greatest novelists. A Simple Heart is set in the Normandy of Flaubert's childhood, while Saint Julian and Herodias draw on medieval myth and the biblical story of John the Baptist for their inspiration. Each of the tales invites comparison with one or other of Flaubert's novels, but they also reveal a fresh and distinctive side to the writers's genius. This book is intended for general; students from the Sixth Form upwards following courses on French literature or comparative literature.

• New

  paperback
  

  $11.68

  First published in 1877, these three stories are dominated by questions of doubt, love, loneliness and religious experience, and together form a triumphant conclusion to Flaubert's literary career. With elegant simplicity, 'A Simple Heart' relates the story of Felicite - an uneducated serving-woman who retains her Catholic faith despite a life of desolation and loss. Inspired by a stained-glass window in Rouen cathedral, 'The Legend of Saint Julian Hospitator' describes the fate of Julian, a sadistic hunter destined to murder his own parents. The blend of faith and cruelty that dominates this story may also be found in 'Herodias' - a reworking of the tale of Salome and John the Baptist.