Three Tales

Gustave Flaubert

Jan. 2005 · Penguin UK

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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 Félicité - 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 Salomé and John the Baptist.

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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.