Tales and Novels of J. De La Fontaine — Volume 24
La Fontaine, the great 17th-century fabulist, turns his piercing eye from animals to humans in these three delectable tales of love, jealousy, and comic misunderstanding. Each story peels back the polished surface of French society to reveal the chaos simmering beneath: a husband driven to public distraction by his wife's careless confession of past infidelity; a father who must quickly contrive a marriage to bury his daughter's embarrassing pregnancy; and a cuckold who discovers his wife and maid have been playing him for fools through a case of mistaken identity. These aren't fables with neat lessons. They're sharp, knowing portraits of human folly, written with the elegant wit that made La Fontaine the most celebrated poet of his age. The humor remains surprisingly fresh, and the characters' desperate schemes to preserve their reputations feel utterly recognizable, even four centuries later.
