F. C. Green - Böcker

Originally published by Cambridge in 1939, this is the masterpiece of Charles Pinot-Duclos (1704-1772) novelist, social historian and Secretary of the Académie, the friend of Rousseau and the forerunner of the social reformers. The Considérations is a penetrating study of eighteenth-century French society, and of the network of moral and psychological ties which compose social existence in any period of civilisation. Professor Green's introduction gives the main facts of the life and work of Duclos.

This book was originally published in 1951. Its author, F. C. Green, here provides an engaging anthology of nineteenth-century French short stories by a number of talented and often eminent writers. Within this volume, Green has reprinted short stories by Mérimée, de Blazac, de Bigny, Nodier, de Nerval and Chatrian amongst others. The stories included are themselves reproduced chronologically, to allow an easy observation of the progression of French literary style in the nineteenth century. Green has also ensured that each French short story is accompanied by a short English biography of its author. The stories themselves are reprinted with a series of explanatory footnotes, in order that each story may be engaged with ease. This volume will be of use to any student of French, and will also be enjoyed by a wider readership with a love of nineteenth-century French literature.

Originally published in 1945, this book contains the French text of the 'Maximes' of François de la Rochefoucauld, which were first published anonymously in 1665. La Rochefoucauld himself added to the text many times during his life, and the version published here contains 641 of his maxims, along with the prefaces to the editions of 1665 and 1678 and two biographical portraits of the Duke in French by himself and by his fellow writer the Cardinal de Retz, Jean François Paul de Gondi. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in French literature and moral philosophy.

Marie-Henri Beyle, better known by his pen name Stendhal, was born in Grenoble in 1783 and died in Paris in 1842. He has long been recognised as one of the greatest French novelists and an early pioneer of realism, although he was underappreciated during his own lifetime. Originally published in 1939, this book provides a detailed biographical study of Stendhal. It is notable for being the first English language book on Stendhal's life and works since Andrew Paton's Henri Beyle, which was published in 1874. It is also highly readable, combining biographical elements with literary appreciation in a subtle and well-rounded manner. This is an informative volume that will be of value to anyone with an interest in French literature and the development of the novel.

Originally published in 1936, this book gathers together Diderot's writings on theatre, providing the reader, in chronological order, with the unabridged meditations of Diderot on everything relating to the nature of drama. Editorial interference is kept to a minimum, and the use of explanatory footnotes is avoided save where their absence might have obscured the intended meaning. The texts are presented in the original French, with an English introduction. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in drama, dramatic theory, and the position of Diderot in relation to them.