Used book – Mateo Falcone and Other Mosaïque Stories, Prosper Mérimée, Jean Balsamo

A Corsican dignitary who doesn't hesitate to kill his son for denouncing a bandit to the gendarmes, a King of Sweden who prophesies the assassination of his successor, a carefree young officer who discovers the horrors of war, a revolt on a slave ship, a naval battle where disloyalty in cards is expiated, dying matadors. In the novellas of Mosaïque, Mérimée paints a picture of individual energy pushed to its limits, in crimes and virtues. Even the drawing rooms of high society, amidst the banal murmur of conversations, buzz with the tortures of remorse and jealousy, and are illuminated by sudden urges to kill. And to express all this, to recount to the intelligent and complicit reader the forces of passion and the irony of fate, he uses a perfect and continuous simplicity, which sticks as close as possible to the truth, a stripped-down and concise style, which makes every detail essential. Mérimée knows that good literature is not about fancy words. Edited by Jean Balsamo. This unabridged edition includes the following novellas: Mateo Falcone - Vision de Charles XI - L'enlèvement de la redoute - Tamango - Federigo - Le vase étrusque - La partie de trictrac - Lettres d'Espagne.