A collection of fiction includes three early tales written between 1927 and 1930 on the themes of greed, gender, and superstition Published to great acclaim in France in 1993, and the last of the authors stories to be translated into English, a collection of fiction includes three early tales written between 1927 and 1930 on the themes of greed, gender, and superstition. UP. These three stories, the last of Yourcenars fiction to be translated into English, were written between 1927 and 1930 when the author was in her mid-twenties.A Blue Tale is a sensual, fantastic attempt to describe reality in tones of blue. Drawing on an ancient oral tradition, Yourcenar offers a tale of the credulity of men who are lured by riches - in this case, sapphires.The First Evening was originally written, though left unfinished, by Yourcenars father, Michel de Crayencour. He exerted a strong influence on his daughters life and on the early stages of her writing career. Yourcenar revised and completed this tale depicting a jaded French intellectual and man-of-the-world whose wedding night is disrupted by shocking news, and it was published under her name after her fathers death.The Evil Spell, like Memoirs of Hadrian, is set in the Mediterranean, a physical and spiritual place that fired Yourcenars literary imagination. The tale reveals Yourcenars fascination with the occult, a realm she would find herself attracted to more than once later on - most notably at a crucial turning point in The Abyss. 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 authors lengthier, more demanding works. The sole published work of fiction by Yourcenar yet to be translated into English, 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 witchhunt that obsessively creates its own quarry. For the devoted readers of Yourcenar, this collection allows a rare glimpse at the beginnings of a writers craft. In these accomplished but forgotten pieces, edited and introduced by her biographer, Josyane Savigneau, the reader will find the blend of fable and fairy tale of Oriental Tales, the psychological chronicle of Dear Departed, the ironic realism of A Coin in Nine Hands. Read as an introduction to Yourcenars work, the stories take us into the writers workshop, as it were, to the early days of creation. In either case, 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 best-selling Memoirs of Hadrian and The Abyss. She was awarded many literary honors, most notably election to the Académie Francaise in 1980, the first woman to be so honored.
