Author(s): Patrick McGuinness (editor)

Short Stories | France

A major new celebration of the French short story, spanning three centuries

'Nowhere have I witnessed real happiness, but surely it is to be found here...'

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 si cle.
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.

Review: 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 *
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 *
What a collection it is ... Both volumes fizz with the enthusiasm with which McGuinness has assembled stories that range across centuries and continents ... The big names are all here - Balzac, Stendahl, Hugo, Flaubert, Proust, Maupassant, Colette, Duras - but one of the collection's strong points is in how many writers are included whose names will be new to most readers ... This will surely turn out to be the definitive anthology of French-language short fiction. -- Charlie Connelly * The New European *
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 *

Author Biography: Patrick 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 two collections of poems, The Canals of Mars (2004), and Jilted City (2010), 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.