A Blue Tale and Other Stories

Name: A Blue Tale and Other Stories
Price: 24.95 AUD
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ISBN: 9780226836898

Marguerite Yourcenar, Alberto Manguel

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English

Chicago University Press
06 January 2025

Literature: history & criticism; Fiction & Literature; Classic fiction (pre c 1945); Short stories; Fiction in translation

This story collection is a welcome port of entry for any reader not yet familiar with Marguerite Yourcenar's works.

Published to great acclaim in France in 1993, this collection is not only a delight for Marguerite Yourcenar fans but a welcome port of entry for any reader not yet familiar with the author's lengthier, more demanding works. This collection includes three stories written between 1927 and 1930 when the author was in her mid-twenties. These stories cover a range of themes, from an allegory on greed and a scene from the war of the sexes to a witch hunt that obsessively creates its own quarry.

For the devoted readers of Yourcenar, this collection allows a rare glimpse at the beginnings of a writer's craft. In these accomplished but forgotten pieces, edited and introduced by her biographer, Josyane Savigneau, readers will find the blend of fable and fairy tale of Oriental Tales, the psychological chronicle of Dear Departed, and the ironic realism of A Coin in Nine Hands. Read as an introduction to Yourcenar's work, the stories take us into the writer's workshop, as it were, to the early days of creation. A Blue Tale and Other Stories carries the unmistakable voice of a formidable and vastly talented writer.

Marguerite Yourcenar (her pseudonym was an anagram of her family name, Crayencour) was born in Brussels in 1903 and died in Maine in 1987. One of the most respected writers in the French language, she is best known as the author of the acclaimed Memoirs of Hadrian and The Abyss. She was awarded many literary honors, most notably election to the Académie Française in 1980, the first woman so honored.

By: Marguerite Yourcenar
Translated by: Alberto Manguel
Imprint: Chicago University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 191mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 10mm
Weight: 113g
ISBN: 9780226836898
ISBN 10: 0226836894
Pages: 114
Publication Date: 06 January 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Marguerite Yourcenar’s (1903–1987) works include A Coin in Nine Hands, Fires, Two Lives and a Dream, and A Blue Tale, all published by the University of Chicago Press. Alberto Manguel is an Argentine-Canadian translator, essayist, novelist, and editor.

Reviews for A Blue Tale and Other Stories

""As translated by Mr. Manguel, the prose of the young Yourcenar is accomplished and her vision arrestingly mature. . . . For its insight into human frailty and vice, for its language forged with precision and nuance, this slim trio of tales is richly rewarding.""-- ""New York Times"" ""These three exquisite stories prefigure the Belgian-born French novelist's mature dramatic powers. . . . In sensual yet precise prose, Yourcenar probes the workings of greed, faith, credulity, and empathy in human relationships.""-- ""Publishers Weekly"" ""A welcome addition to the distinctive oeuvre of an important modern writer.""-- ""Kirkus Reviews""