Sprites of Kernosy Castle

Henriette-Julie de Castelnau, Countess de Murat (1668–1716) was one of the most prolific French women writers of the late seventeenth century. Perry Gethner is Regents Professor of French at Oklahoma State University. Allison Stedman is professor of French at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

"The Sprites of Kernosy Castle (1710) by the Countess Henriette-Julie de Murat illuminates the history of the novel from the late seventeenth to the early eighteenth century and Murat’s role as a transitional figure who, as she evolves, moves away from the marvelous and from earlier models of the novel. By undermining the marvelous—the sprites are in reality noblemen—and by situating the action in the author’s present, rather than in the sixteenth century or earlier as had been typical, Murat challenges both the genre of the fairy tale, in which she had once engaged, and that of the novel. The introduction provides valuable context—the history of leisure, the history of theater as a part of aristocratic life—and crucial information about Murat’s life and her contributions to the development of the novel."

• Acknowledgments Illustrations Introduction The Other Voice Early Life and Works Murat and the Development of the Literary Fairy Tale Scandal and Exile Murat and the Art of the Leisure Novel A Female Quixote Theatrical Life in 1700 Reception and Revision Conclusion A Note on the Translation The Sprites of Kernosy Castle, by Henriette-Julie de Castelnau, Countess de Murat (1710) Part One The Story of Madame de Briance The Story of Zariades Part Two Continuation of the Story of Madame de Briance The Story of the Count de Tourmeil Bearskin, by Marie-Madeleine de Lubert (addition to the 1753 edition of Sprites) Etoilette, by Marie-Madeleine de Lubert (addition to the 1753 edition of Sprites) Bibliography Index