Anatole France

Alfred de Vigny: etude... / Anatole FranceDate de l'edition originale: 1868Sujet de l'ouvrage: Vigny, Alfred deCe livre est la reproduction fidele d'une oeuvre publiee avant 1920 et fait partie d'une collection de livres reimprimes a la demande editee par Hachette Livre, dans le cadre d'un partenariat avec la Bibliotheque nationale de France, offrant l'opportunite d'acceder a des ouvrages anciens et souvent rares issus des fonds patrimoniaux de la BnF. Les oeuvres faisant partie de cette collection ont ete numerisees par la BnF et sont presentes sur Gallica, sa bibliotheque numerique. En entreprenant de redonner vie a ces ouvrages au travers d'une collection de livres reimprimes a la demande, nous leur donnons la possibilite de rencontrer un public elargi et participons a la transmission de connaissances et de savoirs parfois difficilement accessibles. Nous avons cherche a concilier la reproduction fidele d'un livre ancien a partir de sa version numerisee avec le souci d'un confort de lecture optimal. Nous esperons que les ouvrages de cette nouvelle collection vous apporteront entiere satisfaction. Pour plus d'informations, rendez-vous sur www.hachettebnf.fr

'Believe me, the best proof is to have none at all. That is the only evidence one cannot debate.' Anatole France's 1908 novel Penguin Island offers a thinly veiled lampoon of French history and of human civilization. When a wayward Christian missionary monk lands on an island off the northern coast of Europe, he perceives the island's seabirds, a colony of upright, unafraid auks, as a sort of pre-Christian society of noble pagans and baptizes them. This causes a problem for God, who normally only allows humans to be baptized. He resolves the dilemma by converting the baptized birds to humans and giving them each a soul. The ensuing history of Penguinia presents a comic send-up of the foibles and frailty of humanity. The novel's centerpiece is an immensely skillful and scathing parody of the Dreyfus Affair, which stands alongside Émile Zola's 'J'accuse' for its humanity and intellectual bravery. This new translation, more than a century after the first and only English version, offers a full introduction to the novel, setting it in its historical and literary context, including France's life and rich literary legacy. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.