What do you think?
Rate this book
The Castle of Pictures: A Grandmother's Tales, Volume One
In her sixties, George Sand delighted in spinning tales that entertained and educated her two adored granddaughters, Aurore and Gabrielle. Fortunately, she also published thirteen of them for the rest of us to enjoy. The Castle of Pictures presents four of these stories, three of which have never before been translated into English.
Both girls and boys are depicted in these stories as empowered by curiosity, hard work, persistence, and honesty. They successfully protect themselves from danger by using their ingenuity and remaining faithful to their own consciences.
In the title story a girl becomes an artist through the persistent nurturance of her own talent despite opposition from her father, himself a painter. "What Flowers Say" is a wickedly funny satire of class snobbery as played out among chrysanthemums, poppies, numerous varieties of roses, and other denizens of the garden. "The Bug-Eyed Fairy" investigates wonders of the insect world invisible to the normal human eye. In "The Talking Oak", an outcast orphan boy learns to rely on hard work and a strong sense of right and wrong to make his way first through the natural world, with the help of The Talking Oak who becomes his first friend, and then through the compexities of the world of grown-ups.
Sand never talked down to her granddaughters. Her astonishingly deep knowledge of subjects ranging from botany and lepidopterology to art history, her subtle understanding of the human heart and the creative spirit, and her sense of wonder at the world's beauty and mystery are available here for children of all ages.
Both girls and boys are depicted in these stories as empowered by curiosity, hard work, persistence, and honesty. They successfully protect themselves from danger by using their ingenuity and remaining faithful to their own consciences.
In the title story a girl becomes an artist through the persistent nurturance of her own talent despite opposition from her father, himself a painter. "What Flowers Say" is a wickedly funny satire of class snobbery as played out among chrysanthemums, poppies, numerous varieties of roses, and other denizens of the garden. "The Bug-Eyed Fairy" investigates wonders of the insect world invisible to the normal human eye. In "The Talking Oak", an outcast orphan boy learns to rely on hard work and a strong sense of right and wrong to make his way first through the natural world, with the help of The Talking Oak who becomes his first friend, and then through the compexities of the world of grown-ups.
Sand never talked down to her granddaughters. Her astonishingly deep knowledge of subjects ranging from botany and lepidopterology to art history, her subtle understanding of the human heart and the creative spirit, and her sense of wonder at the world's beauty and mystery are available here for children of all ages.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
175 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 1994
2 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
George Sand
2,891 books926 followersAmantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil, best known by her pen name George Sand, was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. One of the most popular writers in Europe in her lifetime, being more renowned than either Victor Hugo or Honoré de Balzac in England in the 1830s and 1840s, Sand is recognised as one of the most notable writers of the European Romantic era. She wrote more than 50 volumes of various works to her credit, including tales, plays and political texts, alongside her 70 novels.
Like her great-grandmother, Louise Dupin, whom she admired, George Sand advocated for women's rights and passion, criticized the institution of marriage, and fought against the prejudices of a conservative society. She was considered scandalous because of her turbulent love life, her adoption of masculine clothing, and her masculine pseudonym.
Like her great-grandmother, Louise Dupin, whom she admired, George Sand advocated for women's rights and passion, criticized the institution of marriage, and fought against the prejudices of a conservative society. She was considered scandalous because of her turbulent love life, her adoption of masculine clothing, and her masculine pseudonym.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 11, 2014
une histoire sympathique mais je reste sur ma fin!
Displaying 1 of 1 review