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Print Price: $19.95

Format:
Paperback
256 pp.
numerous halftones and 2 maps, 138 mm x 216 mm

ISBN-13:
9780192805744

Publication date:
September 2004

Imprint: OUP UK

Paris Tales

Helen Constantine

Paris Tales is a highly evocative collection of stories by French and Francophone writers who have been inspired by specific locations in this most visited of capital cities. The twenty-two stories - by well-known writers including Nerval, Maupassant, Colette, and Echenoz - provide a captivating glimpse into Parisian life from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day.

The stories take us on an atmospheric tour of the arrondissements and quartiers of Paris, charting the changing nature of the city and its inhabitants, and viewing it through the eyes of characters such as the provincial lawyer's wife seeking excitement, a runaway schoolboy sleeping rough, and a lottery-winning policeman. From the artists' haunts of Montmartre to the glamorous cafés of Saint-Germain, from the shouts of demonstrators on Boul Mich' to the tranquillity of Parc Monceau, Paris Tales offers a fascinating literary panorama of Paris. Illustrated with maps and striking photographs, the book will appeal to all those who wish to uncover the true heart of this seductive city.

Readership : Readers of literature in general and short stories in particular; visitors to Paris; travellers and armchair travellers; sixth-form and university students; students in French adult education classes

Reviews

`Smartly mixed cocktail of 22 Parisian tales.'
The Independent

Introduction
1. Guy de Maupassant: Nightmare
2. Gérard de Nerval: The Green Monster
3. Honoré de Balzac: The Last Napoleon
4. Emile Zola: Squares
5. Guy de Maupassant: A Parisian Adventure
6. Colette: Montmartre Cemetery
7. Michael Butor: The Gare Saint-Lazare
8. Roger Grenier: A House in the Place des Fêtes
9. Léon-Paul Fargue: The Twentieth Arrondissement
10. Julien Green: In Notre-Dame
11. Georges Perec: The Runaway
12. Jacques Réda: Rue du Commerce
13. Jean Echenoz: Plan of Occupancy
14. Cyrille Fleischman: The Adventure
15. Anna Gavalda: What Goes on in Saint-Germain
16. Frédédric Beigbeder: Manuscript Found at Saint-Germain-des-Prés
17. Didier Daeninckx: The Man with the Collecting Box
18. Andrée Chedid: The Joyful Death of Fassola
19. Hugo Marsan: Blind Experiment
20. Vincent Ravalec: Feeding the Hungry
21. Maryse Condé: Family Portrait
Biographical information

There are no Instructor/Student Resources available at this time.

Helen Constantine was Head of Languages for many years at a comprehensive school in Oxfordshire and now works as a full-time translator. She is married to the poet, David Constantine. In January 2004 they took over the editorship of Modern Poetry in Translation.

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Special Features

Paris is the most visited city in the world; these evocative stories - by writers such as Maupassant, Colette, and Zola - will enchant the visitor and armchair traveller alike
Unique in exploring the city through literature set in different quartiers; photographs and maps will complement the stories and create a literary tour of Paris
Stories have been translated by the highly experienced Helen Constantine, whose work has appeared in Penguin Classics
First title in what is hoped will become a series of literary tours of key capital cities