Bedside Book of Famous French Stories

by Belle Becker (Editor)

Includes twenty three short stories by various French authors of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including Honoré de Balzac, George Sand, Gustave Flaubert, Emile Zola, Guy de Maupassant, André Malraux, and Jean-Paul Sartre.

Genres: Classics, Short Stories, Fiction

427 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1945

Reviews

[Will Cadle]

I started to give this a five star rating, but I then remembered some of the stories were a bit cumbersome; I think that was due to a popular -- what must've been a brief fad, I think -- proclivity for writing stories about ancient Egypt (One of Cleopatra's Nights by Theophile Gautier) and Biblical fictions (Herodias by Gustave Flaubert or The Procurator of Judea by Anatole France) and for me these diminished the value. I'm sure they were popular at the time -- I mean this fad for writing such stories. But, then there are some gems such as Prosper Merimee's The Venus of Ille and the final story in the collection, The Professor and the Mussels by Edith Thomas.

[Don Annand]

A very good selection of French writers, somewhat biased in the selection by the proximity of its publication to the end of WWII. The absolute standout is The Last Lesson by Alphonse Daudet. This collection simply whets the appetite to read more of these fine authors and provides the French perspective of the various wars and conflicts that the nation has endured.

[Michelle]

So delicious.

I try to read a story from here, each night, before bed. Last night I started "Mimi Pinson."

[Alex]

2 of the stories I couldn't get through but the other ones were amazing.