Skip to main content

A Blue Tale and Other Stories

This story collection is a welcome port of entry for any reader not yet familiar with Marguerite Yourcenar’s works.

Published to great acclaim in France in 1993, this collection is not only a delight for Marguerite Yourcenar fans but a welcome port of entry for any reader not yet familiar with the author's lengthier, more demanding works. This collection includes three stories written between 1927 and 1930 when the author was in her mid-twenties. These stories cover a range of themes, from an allegory on greed and a scene from the war of the sexes to a witch hunt that obsessively creates its own quarry.

For the devoted readers of Yourcenar, this collection allows a rare glimpse at the beginnings of a writer's craft. In these accomplished but forgotten pieces, edited and introduced by her biographer, Josyane Savigneau, readers will find the blend of fable and fairy tale of Oriental Tales, the psychological chronicle of Dear Departed, and the ironic realism of A Coin in Nine Hands. Read as an introduction to Yourcenar's work, the stories take us into the writer's workshop, as it were, to the early days of creation. A Blue Tale and Other Stories carries the unmistakable voice of a formidable and vastly talented writer.

Marguerite Yourcenar (her pseudonym was an anagram of her family name, Crayencour) was born in Brussels in 1903 and died in Maine in 1987. One of the most respected writers in the French language, she is best known as the author of the acclaimed Memoirs of Hadrian and The Abyss. She was awarded many literary honors, most notably election to the Académie Française in 1980, the first woman so honored.

114 pages | 5-1/2 x 7-1/2 | © 1995

Fiction

Gay and Lesbian Studies

Reviews

“As translated by Mr. Manguel, the prose of the young Yourcenar is accomplished and her vision arrestingly mature. . . . For its insight into human frailty and vice, for its language forged with precision and nuance, this slim trio of tales is richly rewarding.”

New York Times

“A welcome addition to the distinctive oeuvre of an important modern writer.”

Kirkus Reviews

“These three exquisite stories prefigure the Belgian-born French novelist’s mature dramatic powers. . . . In sensual yet precise prose, Yourcenar probes the workings of greed, faith, credulity, and empathy in human relationships.”

Publishers Weekly

Table of Contents

Foreword
Josyane Savigneau
A Blue Tale
The First Evening
An Evil Spell

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press