Three Tales
By (Author) Gustave Flaubert
Translated by Roger Whitehouse
Introduction by Geoffrey Wall
Penguin Books Ltd
Penguin Classics
1st June 2005
27th January 2005
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Short stories
Fiction in translation
843.8
Paperback
144
Width 129mm, Height 198mm, Spine 8mm
114g
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.
Gustave Flaubert was born in Rouen in 1821. After illness interrupted a career in law, he retired to live with his widowed mother and devote himself to writing. He achieved limited success in his own lifetime, but his fame and reputation grew steadily after his death in 1880. Geoffrey Wall (introducer) teaches French at the University of York. He is the author of a critically-acclaimed biography of Flaubert and has translated Madame Bovary for Penguin Classics. Roger Whitehouse (translator) is the editor of a book on literary expressions of exile. Geoffrey Wall (introducer) teaches French at the University of York. He is the author of a critically-acclaimed biography of Flaubert and has translated Madame Bovary for Penguin Classics. Roger Whitehouse (translator) is the editor of a book on literary expressions of exile.