3 Best French Short Stories

Written by Honoré de Balzac, Guy de Maupassant and Gustave Flaubert

Narrated by Katie Haigh and Paul Edwards

Enjoy the short stories of three of the greatest writers of French literature, for the first time assembled together in audiobook and narrated in a lively way.

Guy de Maupassant was an absolute master of the short story genre, delighting in clever plotting, concise style, and efficient storytelling, which he used to produce stunning pieces in a very condensed format. He produced more than 300 short stories; we selected for you nine of the most bizarre, influent, humorous or plain shocking.

They are in order: "The Englishman of Etretat", "The Mustache", "A Mother of Monsters", "A Portrait", "A Widow", "Madame Baptiste", "The Drunkard", "Magnetism", "An Uncomfortable Bed".

By Honoré de Balzac, "The Unknown Masterpiece" is a short text that was received as a revolution in the world of art, for its work about artistic creation: what does completion or failure mean, and how is it that technique does not guarantee either.

Flaubert was known for his scrupulous devotion to his style, sometimes working for a whole week to achieve a single page. "A Simple Soul" is a short text containing a lifetime of human emotions. It has been said that no other author has imparted so much beauty and integrity to so modest an existence. This short story is utterly poignant and will change your view of selflessness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Astorg Audio
• Release date: Jan 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9782821103221

Honoré de Balzac

Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) was a French novelist, short story writer, and playwright. Regarded as one of the key figures of French and European literature, Balzac’s realist approach to writing would influence Charles Dickens, Émile Zola, Henry James, Gustave Flaubert, and Karl Marx. With a precocious attitude and fierce intellect, Balzac struggled first in school and then in business before dedicating himself to the pursuit of writing as both an art and a profession. His distinctly industrious work routine—he spent hours each day writing furiously by hand and made extensive edits during the publication process—led to a prodigious output of dozens of novels, stories, plays, and novellas. La Comédie humaine, Balzac’s most famous work, is a sequence of 91 finished and 46 unfinished stories, novels, and essays with which he attempted to realistically and exhaustively portray every aspect of French society during the early-nineteenth century.

Reviews for 3 Best French Short Stories

[Katsudon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great stories with great narrator. I enjoyed them all very much

[Jill ALEXANDER · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

All three writers have a way of letting us see the ambiance and culture of France at that time, as well has each character's expression in it. Flawed and wonderful beings often locked into a social situation and standing they cannot escape but work within it.

-- JA