Infernaliana

Nodier, Charles, 1780-1844Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.8

Word count: 165K words
Chapters: 17

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Infernaliana by Charles NodierAuthor: Nodier, Charles, 1780-1844,Language: French, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Mar 31, 2006

Editor's review

Infernaliana is a French-language work by Charles Nodier, classified under French literature and released free by Project Gutenberg. Nodier was a major figure in early nineteenth-century French Romanticism, known for fantasy and the grotesque, and this book continues his interest in the supernatural, dreams, and folklore, making it a usable text for understanding the origins of French fantasy literature. As a public-domain e-book, its value lies not in binding or marketing but in the availability of the text and its use for language study: readers can obtain the original free and, by following the French, appreciate the rhythm and diction of nineteenth-century French prose. Read it as literary-history and language material, not as a tightly plotted modern novel; pair it with translator's notes or literary-historical background to understand its Gothic and fantastic elements. It suits readers curious about the French fantasy tradition and French Romanticism, as well as learners who want close-reading practice in the original French.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Intermediate to advanced French learners who want close-reading practice with original short texts
Readers interested in French Romanticism and the origins of fantastic and grotesque literature
Literature lovers studying nineteenth-century French prose and folklore themes
Readers used to public-domain e-books who can accept unannotated originals

Not a good fit for

Beginners with no French who need Chinese notes or a translation
Readers of popular fiction who prefer tight plots and modern narrative pacing
Advanced researchers seeking an introduction, annotations, or a scholarly translation

Reading tips

Read one piece through first, marking unfamiliar words and old spellings, then review the overall atmosphere rather than looking up every word.
Read with background material on French Romanticism and Gothic literature to understand the period context of the fantastic elements.
Read chosen pieces aloud to feel the syntax and rhythm of nineteenth-century French prose.
After reading, write a short summary in French to check whether you have grasped the narrative points and tone.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What level of French is needed to read this?

The text is nineteenth-century French, with long sentences and older vocabulary. Intermediate to advanced French reading ability is recommended, with a dictionary for unfamiliar words; beginners should start with a bilingual or Chinese translation, then return to the original.

Is this a complete work or an excerpt?

This is the public-domain e-text released by Project Gutenberg, a complete electronic edition under the French literature category. The exact makeup of the contents follows that e-text; check the table of contents before reading to confirm its scope.

Why is this book recommended for learning French?

It is free, its length suits reading in segments, and its language has the features of nineteenth-century prose, giving learners real texts beyond textbooks. The drawback is the lack of notes, so you need your own dictionary and must accept older spellings.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Nodier, Charles, 1780-1844 Author

Charles Nodier (1780–1844) was a French writer known for fantasy, the grotesque and the supernatural, and he holds a place in early French Romanticism. Seven of his works are held here, spanning a wide range of subjects: Smarra ou les démons de la nuit draws on dreams and the demons of the night to create a Romantic atmosphere of visions; Infernaliana gathers tales of devils and ghosts in a curious, anecdotal vein; and Dictionnaire raisonné des onomatopées françaises turns to linguistics, systematically examining French onomatopoeia. He also wrote Histoire du chien de Brisquet, Franciscus Columna, The Legend of Sister Beatrix and El pintor de Salzburgo, which are short stories or pieces touching on legend and painters. His writing often moves between reality and illusion, combining erudition with imagination. Public information is limited, so biographical details are omitted here.