‘Who is going to marry Eugenie Grandet?’ This is the question that fills the minds of the inhabitants of Saumur, the setting for Eugenie Grandet (1833), one of the the earliest and most famous novels in Balzac’s Comedie humaine. The Grandet household, oppressed by the exacting miserliness of Grandet himself, is jerked violently out of routine by the sudden arrival of Eugenie’s cousin Charles, recently orphaned and penniless. Eugenie’s emotional awakening, stimulated by her love for her cousin, brings her into direct conflict with her father, whose cunning and financial success are matched against her determination to rebel. Eugenie’s moving story is set against the backdrop of provincial oppression, the vicissitudes of the wine trade, and the working of the financial system in the aftermath of the French Revolution. It is both a poignant portrayal of private life and a vigorous fictional document of its age.
Archive for the ‘French’
L’Art de Lire: Le Recit
Designed to help readers develop reading ability in French —especially in preparation for the study of literature (narrative fiction)— L’Art de lire presents nine modern, intriguing, humorous, moving, exciting, well-paced, interesting, and accessible French short stories. Stories include Georges Simenon’s La Vieille Dame de Bayeux and L’Auberge aux Noyées, Guy De Maupassant’s L’Aventure de Walter Schnaffs, Les Bijoux and Deux Amis, L. Anoma Kaniée’s Les Hommes Invisibles, Francois Truffaut, Le Déejeuner de Sylvie, Marcel Pagnol’s Au Parc Boréely avec tante Rose, and Colette’s Dans la Foule: Aprées L’Affaire de las Rue Ordener. For those interested in developing their reading ability in French.
Entretiens
The provocative texts are realia in this oral-skills program stimulate conversation while necessary tools are provided for conversational management.
Le Compagnon Du Petit Prince: Cahier D’Exercises Sur Le Texte De Saint-Exupery
This exercise manual, written entirely in French, is the perfect complement to all three editions of Le Petit Prince. It features 23 groups of exercises as well as suggested topics for composition.
Access French (Book + Audio CD)
‘ACCESS LANGUAGE SERIES The Access Language series provides an innovative, modern course for adult language learners of all ages. Whether the reader is learning for business, for pleasure, or toward an examination, these high-impact, full-color guides provide beginners with a thorough grounding in the skills required to understand, speak, read, and write contemporary French and German. Each Access guide features: Ten units covering different topics areas, including family, eating, travel, and hotels Numerous authentic texts, such as menus, advertisements, town maps, and websites Clear, colorful, and inviting presentation of content Cultural sidebars presenting short texts of cultural interest Learning tips and assessment checklists Two hours of lively recordings on CD, containing practical conversational language that can be studied with the course book or listened to for reinforcement A free support website (www.accesslanguages.com) Glossaries of new vocabulary within each chapter An answer key at the back of the book
