A Blue Tale and Other Stories
by Marguerite Yourcenar
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Description
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. The sole published work of fiction by Yourcenar yet to be translated into English, 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 show more from the war of the sexes, to a witchhunt 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, the reader will find the blend of fable and fairy tale of Oriental Tales, the psychological chronicle of Dear Departed, 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. In either case, 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 best-selling Memoirs of Hadrian and The Abyss. She was awarded many literary honors, most notably election to the Académie Francaise in 1980, the first woman to be so honored. show lessTags
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O Conto Azul é lindo, cinzelado como uma gema.
A primeira noite tem, mais do que tudo, interessa biográfico: é o conto de Michel de C., a simbiose final entre pai e filha, pouco se importando com idade e gênero (pensei muito nessa confusão de vozes, tempos depois, quando vi Elisa, vida mía, do Carlos Saura).
De malefício, amei principalmente o final, quando a mulher sai na rua e vê em tudo recém-descobertos poderes, e vê as estrelas desenhando pra ela sinais no alfabeto das bruxas.
A primeira noite tem, mais do que tudo, interessa biográfico: é o conto de Michel de C., a simbiose final entre pai e filha, pouco se importando com idade e gênero (pensei muito nessa confusão de vozes, tempos depois, quando vi Elisa, vida mía, do Carlos Saura).
De malefício, amei principalmente o final, quando a mulher sai na rua e vê em tudo recém-descobertos poderes, e vê as estrelas desenhando pra ela sinais no alfabeto das bruxas.
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Author Information
A French novelist, playwright, and essayist born in Belgium, Marguerite Yourcenar was a resident of the United States for many years, living in isolation on a small island off the coast of Maine. Educated at home by wealthy and cultured parents, she had a strong humanistic background, translating the ancient Greek poet Pindar and the poems of the show more modern Greek Constantine Cavafy. She has translated American Negro spirituals and works of Virginia Woolf (see Vol. 1) and Henry James (see Vol. 1). Her novels include Alexis (1929) and Coup de Grace (1939). A collection of poems, Fires, was published in 1936. Yourcenar is particularly known for Hadrian's Memoirs (1951), a philosophical meditation in the form of a fictional autobiography of the second-century Roman emperor. In Germaine Bree's judgment, "With great erudition and great psychological insight, Marguerite Yourcenar constructed a body of work that is a meditation on the destiny of mankind." In 1981, she became the first woman ever elected to the French Academy. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Gallimard, Folio (2838)
Common Knowledge
- Original title
- Conte bleu; Le Premier soir; Malefice
- Original publication date
- 1993
- Original language*
- Français
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- 142
- Popularity
- 229,718
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (2.91)
- Languages
- 7 — Dutch, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 20
- ASINs
- 2
