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darkling_talesLJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY dfordoom)
I’ve been reading The Dedalus Book of French Horror: The 19th Century. It’s divided into three sections - frénétique tales, contes cruels and fantastique tales. I’ve so far read the first section. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, with the most impressive story being Alexandre Dumas’ Solange. Frédéric Soulié’s The Lamp of Saint Just is a good medieval tale of cruelty and revenge. Eugène Sue’s The Travels of Claude Belissan is a humorous satirical story. Pétrus Borel’s Monsieur de l’Argentière, Public Prosecutor relies too much on mistaken identity. Alphonse Royer’s The Covetous Clerk is black comedy. And then there’s Xavier Forneret’s One Eye Between Two. This has to be one of the strangest pieces of writing I’ve ever come across. It was published in 1840, and Forneret was apparently very highly thought of by the 20th century Surrealists. I can see why!
It’s a fascinating glimpse into the hidden corners of 19th century French literature. Many of the stories I’ve read so far aren’t really horror. Weird tales might be closer to it.
Cross-posted tostrange_tears
dfordoom)I’ve been reading The Dedalus Book of French Horror: The 19th Century. It’s divided into three sections - frénétique tales, contes cruels and fantastique tales. I’ve so far read the first section. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, with the most impressive story being Alexandre Dumas’ Solange. Frédéric Soulié’s The Lamp of Saint Just is a good medieval tale of cruelty and revenge. Eugène Sue’s The Travels of Claude Belissan is a humorous satirical story. Pétrus Borel’s Monsieur de l’Argentière, Public Prosecutor relies too much on mistaken identity. Alphonse Royer’s The Covetous Clerk is black comedy. And then there’s Xavier Forneret’s One Eye Between Two. This has to be one of the strangest pieces of writing I’ve ever come across. It was published in 1840, and Forneret was apparently very highly thought of by the 20th century Surrealists. I can see why!
It’s a fascinating glimpse into the hidden corners of 19th century French literature. Many of the stories I’ve read so far aren’t really horror. Weird tales might be closer to it.
Cross-posted to
strange_tears
