The present volume is one of a set of three collections assembling a substantial fraction of the short fantastic fiction of Catulle Mendès (1841-1909). It assembles 23 tales of the fantastique dealing with anomalous events and altered states of consciousness that might or might not have supernatural causes.
Other writers such as Marcel Schwob have written stories of the same kind, but Mendès’ work in that vein is particularly interesting, not merely by virtue of its profusion and its uncommon imaginative range, but also because of its macabre humor and its straightforward disturbing aspects.
That combination of effects makes the present collection unique with in the field of weird fiction, and quite fascinating.
The short fantastic fiction of Catulle Mendès c. 1882-1904 - trans. Brian Stableford
The Man in the Green Caravan The Pond The Amorous Child The Bouquet of Forget-me-Nots The Unexpected Wedding Night The Guest Possessed The Arsonist The Flute-Player The Tearful Day The Chaste Town 56 Rue des Filles-Dieu The Exigent Shadow The Village near the Road Fear on the Island The Reflection, the Odor, the Flame and the Image The Portrait on the Empty Wall Effects without Causes The Curious Adventure of a Hat The Gratitude of a Trumpet Official Record of an Interrogation The Tears that do not know what to Mourn