Title: Les contes drôlatiques
First published: 1950
Description: A collection of stories with a mediaeval theme rather after the style of Rabelais. Early editions were illustrated by Gustav Dore and were published by Garnier Freres of Paris. The stories range from the absurd to the downright grim but the illustrations give them a life of their own. Rather off-putting to the reader used to modern French, the stories are written in an archaic French that is not always easy to interpret.
Subjects: Social life and customs, Translations into English, French Short stories, Fiction, Short stories, Manners and customs
Places: France
People: Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850)
Time periods: The Middle Ages or immediate post-Middle Ages.