num_pages: 144
description: First published in 1877, these three stories are dominated by questions of doubt, love, loneliness, and religious experience; together they confirm Flaubert as a master of the short story. A Simple Heart (also published as A Simple Soul), relates the story of Félicité, an uneducated serving-woman who retains her Catholic faith despite a life of desolation and loss. The Legend of Saint Julian Hospitator, inspired by a stained-glass window in Rouen cathedral, describes the fate of 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 Salome and John the Baptist.
language: English
title: Three Tales
titlecomplete: Three Tales
genres: Short Stories, French Literature, Literary Fiction, Novels, School, Literature, Classics, Fiction, 19th Century, France
ratings_count: 6639
places: Rouen, France
publisher: Penguin Classics