History of French Literature

David Coward is Research Professor in French at the University of Leeds. He has written widely on the literature and culture of France since 1700 and has translated tales by Sade and Maupassant, plays by Molière and novels by Diderot and Dumas fils. His English version of Albert Cohen's Belle du Seigneur was awarded the Scott-Moncrieff Prize for Translation in 1996. He writes regularly for the Times Literary Supplement and is a contributor to the literary pages of magazines and newspapers in the UK and US.

• Preface xxii1 THE MIDDLE AGES 1Introduction 1Hagiography 6The chanson de geste 7Lyric poetry to Rutebeuf 10Romance 12Comic realism 17The literature of devotion, moral reflection and information 19Learning and ideas 22Theatre 23Later lyric poetry 25Fifteenth-century ‘modernism’ 26Conclusion 302 THE RENAISSANCE 32The Age of François I 32The Generation of the Pléiade 50Literature during the Wars of Religion 653 THE CLASSICAL AGE 79Writers and Their Public 80The Elaboration of the Classical Ideal 85The Rise of Rationalism 90Literature 96The Crisis of Confidence 1224 THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT 131Introduction 131Writers and Their Public 133The Rise of the ‘Philosophic’ Spirit 138The Social Programme of the Enlightenment 145Literature 160Literature and the Revolution (1789–99) 1945 THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 198Introduction 198Writers and Their Public 199Movements and Schools 206Literature 2326 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 298Writers and Their Public 299From Literary Doctrine to Critical Theory 307The Rise of the Intellectual 316Literature 3397 BEYOND IMAGINATION, GENDER AND THE MÉTROPOLE 410Biography 411Autobiography 412Women’s Writing 417Gay Writing 424Francophone Writing 4268 BEYOND ‘LITERATURE’ 446The Best-seller 447French Humorous Writing 467Regional Literature 482The Roman Policier 5039 BEYOND WORDS 518The Roman-photo: Graphic Fiction 519La Bande Dessinée 523The Cinema 533Conclusion 558Bibliography 560Index 566

"David Coward's new History is heroically comprehensive and shrewdly concise, generously accommodating in its definition of the subject, yet wisely discriminating in its detailed assessments. As the new millennium gets under way, it will surely be not only an essential guide but a lasting source of renewable pleasure for anyone interested in the literature and culture of France." Times Literary Supplement "In its breadth, depth, concision and sophistication of analysis, this book is an exceptional achievement. Neglecting neither Francophone nor gender-specific literature, this single-volume history of a thousand years of French writing and culture is a tour de force." Choice "Covering in varying depth everything down to modern gay, regional, and francophone writing, this approachable and clearly written book can be read front to back or a given strand can be followed through by moving through the headings classifying genres: theatre, poetry, etc." Modern Language Review "[...] Coward comes into his element, and provides an invaluable synthesis of where French is now and where it is going. A whole raft of mainstream and marginal writing is presented and evaluated, and it is here that those of us who teach French find ourselves pedagogically the most deeply in Coward's debt." The Times Higher Education Supplement "The concise discussion of structuralism, poststructuralism, postmodernism, and deconstruction will be of use to many students of literature." World Literature Today