Best of
French-Literature

1911

Exploits & Opinions of Dr. Faustroll, Pataphysician: A Neo-Scientific Novel


Alfred Jarry - 1911
    Refused for publication in the author's lifetime, "Exploits and Opinion of Dr. Faustroll" recounts the adventures of the inventor of "Pataphysics . . . the science of imaginary solutions." Pataphysics has since inspired artists as diverse as Marcel Duchamp and the 60s rock band Soft Machine, as well as the mythic literary organization the College de Pataphysique. Simon Watson Taylor's superb annotated translation (which in turn inspired a new French edition of the text) was first published by Grove Press in 1965 as part of their now out-of-print collection, "Selected Works of Alfred Jarry." As a result, this most important novel by Jarry has never before been published under its own title in English.

Bouvard and Pécuchet with The Dictionary of Received Ideas


Gustave Flaubert - 1911
    Following an unexpected inheritence, they decide to give up their jobs and explore the world of ideas.