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- GenresFrance
188 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1897
3 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Anatole France
1,611 books558 followersFrench critic Anatole France, pen name of Jacques Anatole François Thibault wrote sophisticated, often satirical short stories and novels, including
Penguin Island
(1908), and won the Nobel Prize of 1921 for literature.
Anatole France began his career as a poet and a journalist. From 1867, he as a journalist composed articles and notices.
In 1869, Le Parnasse Contemporain published La Part de Madeleine of his poems. In 1875, he sat on the committee in charge of the third such compilation. He moved Paul Verlaine and Stéphane Mallarmé aside.
Skeptical old scholar Sylvester Bonnard, protagonist of famous Le Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard (1881), embodied own personality of the author. The academy praised its elegant prose.
Anatole France in La Rotisserie de la Reine Pedauque (1893) ridiculed belief in the occult and in Les Opinions de Jerome Coignard (1893) captured the atmosphere of the fin de siècle.
People elected him to the Académie française in 1896.
People falsely convicted Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer, of espionage. Anatole France took an important part in the affair, signed manifesto of Émile Zola to support Dreyfus, and authored Monsieur Bergeret in 1901.
After the nearsighted Abbot Mael baptized the animals in error, France in later work depicts the transformation into human nature in 1908.
People considered most profound La Revolte des Anges (1914). It tells of Arcade, the guardian angel of Maurice d'Esparvieu. Arcade falls in love, joins the revolutionary movement of angels, and towards the end recognizes the meaningless overthrow of God unless "in ourselves and in ourselves alone we attack and destroy Ialdabaoth."
People awarded him "in recognition of his brilliant literary achievements, characterized as they are by a nobility of style, a profound human sympathy, grace, and a true Gallic temperament" in 1921.
In 1922, the Catholic Church put entire works of France on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (Index of Prohibited Books).
He died, and people buried his body in the Neuilly-sur-Seine community cemetery near Paris.
Anatole France began his career as a poet and a journalist. From 1867, he as a journalist composed articles and notices.
In 1869, Le Parnasse Contemporain published La Part de Madeleine of his poems. In 1875, he sat on the committee in charge of the third such compilation. He moved Paul Verlaine and Stéphane Mallarmé aside.
Skeptical old scholar Sylvester Bonnard, protagonist of famous Le Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard (1881), embodied own personality of the author. The academy praised its elegant prose.
Anatole France in La Rotisserie de la Reine Pedauque (1893) ridiculed belief in the occult and in Les Opinions de Jerome Coignard (1893) captured the atmosphere of the fin de siècle.
People elected him to the Académie française in 1896.
People falsely convicted Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer, of espionage. Anatole France took an important part in the affair, signed manifesto of Émile Zola to support Dreyfus, and authored Monsieur Bergeret in 1901.
After the nearsighted Abbot Mael baptized the animals in error, France in later work depicts the transformation into human nature in 1908.
People considered most profound La Revolte des Anges (1914). It tells of Arcade, the guardian angel of Maurice d'Esparvieu. Arcade falls in love, joins the revolutionary movement of angels, and towards the end recognizes the meaningless overthrow of God unless "in ourselves and in ourselves alone we attack and destroy Ialdabaoth."
People awarded him "in recognition of his brilliant literary achievements, characterized as they are by a nobility of style, a profound human sympathy, grace, and a true Gallic temperament" in 1921.
In 1922, the Catholic Church put entire works of France on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (Index of Prohibited Books).
He died, and people buried his body in the Neuilly-sur-Seine community cemetery near Paris.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 7, 2018
"Shame is a great hypocrite. It hardly ever talks of things it always thinks about."
Oh, how I've longed for French classics...
Oh, how I've longed for French classics...
not-for-me
November 6, 2023O READ A CIUPLE IF CAPTERS, GAVE IT A TRY AND FCIDED IT'S NOT FOR ME. THE QUTHOR'S RELIGIOUS SATIRES JUST AREN'T FOR ME. THE TEXT RARELY MAKES ME LAUGH. THE PROSE IS WORDY. i'VE TRIED SEVERAL OF THE AUTHOR'S BOOKS AND NOW I'VE HAD ENOUGH!
October 28, 2016
I'm not sure why I loved this work and all of Anatole France's work, he is a pretty much forgotten writer except perhaps in France; he seems to have very little following in the United States.
Perhaps its because he's so "french" and certainly this book is one of the most "french" things I've ever read. It is quite a beautiful little read, particularly the meetings by the elm tree and the "old book corner" at the bookstore. It is also very "odd", the plot drifts quite a bit, there are a couple of long "asides" which don't seem to add much. But there's something quite beautiful about this book and the other works by France on the Powys list, and his attitude is so enlightened, you could argue that the attitude, and not the plot or the characters, is the joy of reading his work.
I love books that are unlike anything I've read before, and this one certainly qualifies. The plot initially centers around an open position for a bishop, and two of the candidates therefore, and the local "prefect" and his involvement in the selection. The characters are drawn with considerable humor and lightness of touch. An edition of the work with endnotes would certainly help, but all of my reading of Balzac was helpful in understanding the tortured period from the French Revolution to 1897, when the book takes place.
This is a book lovers book - the scenes at the bookstore in the old book corner made me indescribably happy. Plus the respectful conversations under the elm tree by two people, a priest and a professor, reminded me of how we can converse with intelligence and civility, even if we are at completely different ends of the political spectrum. I walked away from the book feeling like I had communed with an enlightened person, someone I wouldn't be happier with having a pleasant conversation. And it filled me with the very specific pleasant feeling I associate with French things. So on the basis of that, if interested I encourage you to explore.
Perhaps its because he's so "french" and certainly this book is one of the most "french" things I've ever read. It is quite a beautiful little read, particularly the meetings by the elm tree and the "old book corner" at the bookstore. It is also very "odd", the plot drifts quite a bit, there are a couple of long "asides" which don't seem to add much. But there's something quite beautiful about this book and the other works by France on the Powys list, and his attitude is so enlightened, you could argue that the attitude, and not the plot or the characters, is the joy of reading his work.
I love books that are unlike anything I've read before, and this one certainly qualifies. The plot initially centers around an open position for a bishop, and two of the candidates therefore, and the local "prefect" and his involvement in the selection. The characters are drawn with considerable humor and lightness of touch. An edition of the work with endnotes would certainly help, but all of my reading of Balzac was helpful in understanding the tortured period from the French Revolution to 1897, when the book takes place.
This is a book lovers book - the scenes at the bookstore in the old book corner made me indescribably happy. Plus the respectful conversations under the elm tree by two people, a priest and a professor, reminded me of how we can converse with intelligence and civility, even if we are at completely different ends of the political spectrum. I walked away from the book feeling like I had communed with an enlightened person, someone I wouldn't be happier with having a pleasant conversation. And it filled me with the very specific pleasant feeling I associate with French things. So on the basis of that, if interested I encourage you to explore.
January 25, 2020
It's difficult to pin a specific subject that this book was about because it meandered quite a bit but it is basically a satire of French society. Much of the book was set in a bookstore or under elm trees in the mall. There was no central protagonist but the closest characters to it are probably M. Bergeret and Abbe Lantaigne who sat on a bench under the elm tree and had some interesting discussions. They were completely opposite in their views but still maintained civil discourse. They argued about government (republic vs. monarchy) and theology. Abbe Lantaigne was for the monarchy but pretended to be for the republic because the Pope was for it and he was hoping to be appointed as bishop. I liked M. Bergeret's argument for the republic especially with this quote:
"... as soon as this unhappy state, driven by need, makes a show of asking for money from those who have it, and of levying some slight toll on the rich, it is made to feel that it is committing a horrible outrage, is violating all rights, is wanting in respect to a sacred thing, is destroying commerce and industry, and crushing the poor by touching the rich."
It sounds like an argument that is still going on today. I think that is what I like most about Anatole France, he can express many of the same feelings I have with his incredible prose.
"... as soon as this unhappy state, driven by need, makes a show of asking for money from those who have it, and of levying some slight toll on the rich, it is made to feel that it is committing a horrible outrage, is violating all rights, is wanting in respect to a sacred thing, is destroying commerce and industry, and crushing the poor by touching the rich."
It sounds like an argument that is still going on today. I think that is what I like most about Anatole France, he can express many of the same feelings I have with his incredible prose.
August 12, 2020
Niby ciekawe, ale jednak za suche, za sztuczne. Rozmowy profesora z księdzem (kompletnie nie mam pamięci do tych francuskich nazwisk) te ponad 100 lat temu może i były ciekawe jako starcie diametralnie różnych, a jednak równie rozsądnych punktów widzenia, ale z dzisiejszej perspektywy ksiądz jest po prostu groźnym radykałem, który nie ma do powiedzenia nic wartego uwagi. A że te właśnie rozmowy mają być chyba główną treścią książki - w przeciwnym razie pojęcia nie mam, co miałoby nią być - to całokształt bardzo na tym cierpi. Zdecydowanie nie dla mnie. Zobaczymy, może z Manekinem trzcinowym bardziej się polubimy.
May 20, 2023
"W cieniu wiązów" to krótka powieść rozgrywająca się w pewnym francuskim miasteczku, w XIX wieku. Fabularnie niewiele się tutaj dzieje, ponieważ na kartach tej powieści przeważają głównie dysputy religijno-polityczne, gdzie zderzają się poglądy rojalistów i republikanów.
Zostawiam dwie gwiazdki. Było w porządku, ale jednak czuję, że to nie była lektura dla mnie. To, że tutaj jest bardzo mało akcji to jedno i wiele osób, nawet w takiej mało dynamicznej lekturze, może znaleźć sporo przyjemności. Jednak zagadnienia teologiczno-filozoficzne nie trafiły aktualnie u mnie na podatny grunt.
Nie odradzam. W tym przypadku zdecydowanie trzeba samemu spróbować i ocenić.
Zostawiam dwie gwiazdki. Było w porządku, ale jednak czuję, że to nie była lektura dla mnie. To, że tutaj jest bardzo mało akcji to jedno i wiele osób, nawet w takiej mało dynamicznej lekturze, może znaleźć sporo przyjemności. Jednak zagadnienia teologiczno-filozoficzne nie trafiły aktualnie u mnie na podatny grunt.
Nie odradzam. W tym przypadku zdecydowanie trzeba samemu spróbować i ocenić.
April 13, 2020
Une histoire sympathique avec une écriture très simple et rapide à lire. L'histoire est sympa bien qu'un peu lassante. Néanmoins, ce tome introductif donne envie de lire la suite.
February 15, 2023
Anatole France fue un escritor comprometido con el momento político y social de su país, dominado por el regimen en ejercicio, la III República.
En esta novela, la primera de cuatro, dónde ya aparece Bergeret, solo esbozado cómo personaje librepensador, el autor nos muestra la convulsión ideológica reinante en Francia por esos días, la Republica cómo sistema de gobieno en el poder, y la monarquía, cómo el pasado, pero con adeptos fieles e incansables.
Las alianzas de personajes influyentes, con más o menos tolerancia frente a opiniones opuestas literalmente, ya sea en el plano de la política o del ámbito clerical son el caldo de cultivo para falsedades, maniobras insidiosas, intrigas destinadas siempre a socabar el poder del otro.
También nos muestra una notable relajación en torno a las libertades morales en el orden privado, por ejemplo dando por sentado que tratándose de clases socialmente acomodadas es permitido el adulterio elegantemente disimulado y adornado con aceptables modales.
Ideas republicanas, tolerantes, libertades individuales avanzan sobre la rigidez del régimen monarquico anterior.
En esta novela, la primera de cuatro, dónde ya aparece Bergeret, solo esbozado cómo personaje librepensador, el autor nos muestra la convulsión ideológica reinante en Francia por esos días, la Republica cómo sistema de gobieno en el poder, y la monarquía, cómo el pasado, pero con adeptos fieles e incansables.
Las alianzas de personajes influyentes, con más o menos tolerancia frente a opiniones opuestas literalmente, ya sea en el plano de la política o del ámbito clerical son el caldo de cultivo para falsedades, maniobras insidiosas, intrigas destinadas siempre a socabar el poder del otro.
También nos muestra una notable relajación en torno a las libertades morales en el orden privado, por ejemplo dando por sentado que tratándose de clases socialmente acomodadas es permitido el adulterio elegantemente disimulado y adornado con aceptables modales.
Ideas republicanas, tolerantes, libertades individuales avanzan sobre la rigidez del régimen monarquico anterior.
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September 10, 2015Free download available at Project Gutenberg.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews