Overview
In this highly accessible introduction, Brian Nelson provides an overview of French literature - its themes and forms, traditions and transformations - from the Middle Ages to the present. Major writers, including Francophone authors writing from areas other than France, are discussed chronologically in the context of their times, to provide a sense of the development of the French literary tradition and the strengths of some of the most influential writers within it. Nelson offers close readings of exemplary passages from key works, presented in English translation and with the original French. The exploration of the work of important writers, including Villon, Racine, Molière, Voltaire, Balzac, Flaubert, Zola, Proust, Sartre and Beckett, highlights the richness and diversity of French literature.
Full Product Details
Author: Brian Nelson (Emeritus Professor, Monash University, Victoria)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 1.70cm
, Length: 22.80cm
Weight: 0.460kg
ISBN: 9780521715096
ISBN 10: 0521715091
Pages: 318
Publication Date: 05 June 2015
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
an important contribution and a rewarding read [Nelson's] scholarship is all the more impressive for being deftly deployed He has successfully made his own the motto of the French classical period - plaire et instruire (to impart pleasure and knowledge). Colin Nettelbeck, Australian Book Review
'… an important contribution and a rewarding read … [Nelson's] scholarship … is all the more impressive for being deftly deployed … He has successfully made his own the motto of the French classical period - plaire et instruire (to impart pleasure and knowledge).' Colin Nettelbeck, Australian Book Review 'This is a book for everyone interested in French literature, whether erudite or ignorant; it is immensely informative with no jargon and no posturing.' Valerie Minogue, Bulletin of the Emile Zola Society 'Nelson has produced a concise, easily comprehensible overview of French literature.' F. E. Nicholson, Choice 'To say that this book is readable would be a serious understatement … inspired and often inspiring …' T. Chapman Wing, H-France '… rich and eminently readable …' John Flower, French Studies 'Divided into thirty short chapters, each of which is devoted to a 'major' author, this introduction is at once easy to read and solidly grounded in recent scholarship. … A succinct chronology of historical events is provided, as are suggestions for further reading.' Edward Ousselin, The French Review
Author Information
Brian Nelson is Professor Emeritus of French Studies and Translation Studies at Monash University, Victoria, and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. His publications include Perspectives on Literature and Translation: Creation, Circulation, Reception (co-edited with Brigid Maher, 2013), The Cambridge Companion to Emile Zola (Cambridge, 2007) and translations of the novels of Émile Zola.
