14 h 49 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Passion, war, vanity, fate: how much of a life can a short story hold?
French Short Stories brings together nineteenth-century writers whose tales move between village life and Paris streets, Romantic adventure and the fantastic. Prosper Mérimée, Guy de Maupassant, Alphonse Daudet and Honoré de Balzac explore worlds where danger presses close and ordinary people face the pull of passion or their own vanity.
Alongside them stand Théophile Gautier, Alfred de Musset, François Coppée and the writing pair Erckmann-Chatrian. The collection moves through Romantic tales, stories of home and war, and Maupassant’s sharply observed fiction. Read these voices side by side to discover how differently a short story can capture people, places and the forces that shape a life.
What you’ll discover
- Romantic adventure and wonder Explore tales where passion and danger meet the strange possibilities of the fantastic.
- Mérimée beyond Paris Follow a cool storyteller into wild tales set far from the capital.
- Daudet close to home Discover the warmth of a writer drawn to Provence, its villages and its people.
- Lives under pressure Encounter ordinary people caught by war, invasion, fate or the traps of their own vanity.
- Distinct voices together Compare each writer’s approach as French storytelling moves toward a sharper, more concentrated form.
Who will love it
Readers who love sharp short fiction, from ghost stories and war comedies to Christmas tales, Eastern fantasy and Norman village life, and who enjoy meeting many storytellers in one volume.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Mérimée shows war and revenge in miniature
- Maupassant turns revenge into ghost story and grim ritual
- War comedies mock heroes and honor cowards
- Norman village tales mix laughter with sorrow
- Daudet brings Provence and warm irony
- Erckmann-Chatrian builds a nightmare in Heidelberg
- Coppée writes two Christmas fables about money and conscience
- Gautier and Balzac reach toward the East and the sea
- Musset's Croisilles ends the collection on love and folly
Who’s who
- SilvioA silent, dangerous marksman in a garrison town who carries an old grudge and an unfinished duel.
- Widow SaveriniA poor old woman in Bonifacio who has sworn to avenge her murdered son and trains his dog to help her.
- Walter SchnaffsA fat, gentle Prussian soldier who fears every weapon and wants only to be taken prisoner and fed.
- BerthineA strong young woman in a forest house who faces six hungry Prussian soldiers with a revolver and a plan.
- Father ToineA giant innkeeper in Normandy who jokes with every customer and bickers daily with his wife.
- KasperA young violinist from the Black Forest who is caught up in a string of murders in Heidelberg.
- Monsieur GodefroyA rich Paris financier who gives his small son fifteen minutes a day and thinks mostly of profit.
- CroisillesAn absent-minded goldsmith's son who returns to find his father ruined and still loves a tax farmer's daughter.
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 14 h 49 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear Nouvelles françaises in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Nouvelles françaises
A young officer lies awake by the campfire, alone among thousands of soldiers.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
A young officer watches a red moon rise over a Russian fort and feels doom. A widow trains a starving dog on a straw man.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Mérimée shows war and revenge in miniature
The collection opens with two soldier stories. In The Capture of the Redoubt, a young lieutenant joins his regiment the night before an assault on the Cheverino fort. His captain greets him coldly, and an old soldier reads the red moon as a bad sign.
The young man tells himself he is not afraid, only afraid of looking afraid. He brushes dust from his sleeve and jokes while shells land near him. The writer lets a few small gestures show how pride and fear sit side by side, and how little time a battle gives for thinking.
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What is French Short Stories about?
It is a collection of tales by eight nineteenth-century French authors, covering war, revenge, ghosts, village life, Christmas, Eastern fantasy and love. Each tale stands alone, so you can read them one at a time.
Which authors are in this collection?
The authors are Prosper Mérimée, Guy de Maupassant, Alphonse Daudet, Erckmann-Chatrian, François Coppée, Théophile Gautier, Honoré de Balzac and Alfred de Musset.
Are these stories true?
They are fiction, though many draw on real settings and events such as the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the Corsican blood feud and Napoleonic battles. Mérimée's first tale is based on an account told by a soldier friend.
The author
Prosper Mérimée
1803–1870 · French novelist and historian
Prosper Mérimée was a French writer, archaeologist and historian, born in Paris in 1803. He wrote plays, historical works and short stories, including Carmen, published in 1845. He served as inspector-general of historical monuments in France from 1834 to 1860. He died in Cannes in 1870.
More by Prosper Mérimée ; Guy de Maupassant ; Alphonse Daudet ; Erckmann-Chatrian ; François Coppée ; Théophile Gautier ; Honoré de Balzac ; Alfred de Musset ; Douglas Labaree Buffum (éditeur)
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