The Complete Tales in Verse: La Fontaine

by Jean de La Fontaine, Guido Waldman

Overview

First published three years before the Jean de la Fontaine's Fables began to appear, the verse compositions in Complete Tales in Verse were the fruit of Fontaine's wicked delight in reading Boccacio's Decameron, Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, the works of Rabelais, and others. Marital misdemeanors, resourceful females, and addled males inspire some of the author's most richly inventive plotting, which recasts the source stories in his own witty words. While Rabelais, Voltaire, and Molière are more commonly cited for their comedic virtues, this collection demonstrates Fontaine's deserving place alongside them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781857544824
Publisher:	Carcanet Press, Limited
Publication date:	06/30/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	334
Product dimensions:	5.75(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Jean de la Fontaine continues to be one of the most cherished authors in the French pantheon of literature. His Fables, verse reworkings of classical tales from sources such as Aesop and Horace, is recognized as a milestone of French literature and culture. Guido Waldman, is a translator and editor, and is currently editorial director of the Harvill Press.

Table of Contents

Translator's Note

The Falcon

A Courtesan in Love

The Innocent

The Pack Saddle

An Exchange of Kisses

Alicia on Her Sickbed

Portrait of Iris

Love Drenched

The Little Dog Who Could Shake Out Silver and Gems

How Girls Find Their Wits

The Ailing Abbess

Dindenaut and Panurge

Fair Exchange.

A Problem of Conscience

The Little Devil of Papifighia

Ferondo, or a Spell in Purgatory

The Head-dress

King Candaule and the Doctor of Law

The Devil in Hell

Old Man Peter and His Mare

Eel Pate

Spectacles

The Cask

The Impossible Task

Mr. Handsome

The Picture

The Cowbell

The River Scamander

The Unwitting Candidate, or the Stratagem

The Remedy

Indiscreet Avowals

The Matron of Ephesus

Belphegor

The Contract

Mistaken Identities