Monsieur Bergeret à Paris: Histoire Contemporaine

France, Anatole, 1844-1924Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 4.0

Word count: 337K words
Chapters: 34

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.Monsieur Bergeret à Paris: Histoire Contemporaine by Anatole FranceAuthor: France, Anatole, 1844-1924,Language: French, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Jan 1, 2005

Editor's review

Monsieur Bergeret à Paris is one installment in Anatole France's novel series Histoire Contemporaine, presented here in the original French. France is known for his ironic tone and intellectual perspective; this book continues his observation of Parisian social and political life, linking characters and events through the experiences of its protagonist, Monsieur Bergeret. The narrative leans heavily on dialogue and discussion, and the plot unfolds at a leisurely pace—the pleasure of reading comes more from verbal irony and the depiction of the manners of the age. As a public-domain eBook, it is freely accessible, suitable for intermediate-to-advanced French learners as extensive reading and for readers interested in late-nineteenth-century French literature and social thought. Those new to France may wish to first familiarize themselves with the overall arc of Histoire Contemporaine before entering this book.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Learners with intermediate-to-advanced French reading ability who want to read the original
Readers interested in late-nineteenth-century French literature and intellectual themes
Literary readers studying France's ironic narrative and the Histoire Contemporaine series
Readers who enjoy dialogue-heavy, discussion-rich novels

Not a good fit for

General readers with no French and no reference translation
Readers who prefer tightly plotted stories with strong dramatic conflict
Readers seeking a standalone, self-contained story who do not wish to enter a series context

Reading tips

Familiarize yourself with the overall structure and character relationships of Histoire Contemporaine before reading this book; it will be easier to enter the context.
Pay attention to the irony and discussion in the dialogue as you read, and mark passages worth revisiting.
French learners can closely read a set portion each day, balancing language accumulation with plot progression.
After reading, consult background material on late-nineteenth-century French society to help understand the political satire in the book.

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

Can this book be read on its own, or must I read the other works in the series first?

This book is one installment of Histoire Contemporaine. It has its own plot threads, but its characters and themes are closely connected to earlier works. It can stand alone, but understanding the series' overall arc and main characters beforehand will make it easier to grasp the book's satirical targets.

What are the main difficulties in reading this novel by France?

The main difficulties lie in the literary expression of the original French, the dense dialogue and discussion, and the reliance on the French social and political background of the time. Readers familiar with the era and accustomed to discursive narrative will find it much smoother.

This public-domain eBook has no notes. What should I do when I encounter obstacles in background knowledge?

You can look up France's biography, introductions to Histoire Contemporaine, and overviews of late-nineteenth-century French politics and society on your own. While reading, first grasp the character relationships and main events; do not pause too long over individual historical allusions.

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

France, Anatole, 1844-1924 Author

Anatole France (France, Anatole, 1844-1924) was a French writer whose real name was Anatole François Thibault. Because the available material is limited, the details of his life cannot be set out here, but it is clear that he produced a large body of work, of which 57 titles are held in this collection. His representative works include Penguin Island, Les Dieux ont soif (The Gods Are Athirst), The Revolt of the Angels, Vie de Jeanne d'Arc (The Life of Joan of Arc), and La rôtisserie de la Reine Pédauque (At the Sign of the Reine Pédauque), spanning novels, historical biography, and satirical fable. France's prose is elegant and unhurried, and he often examines society and history with urbane irony and a skeptical spirit, weaving philosophical reflection into his narratives. He had a lasting influence on French literature and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1921.