
Two seasoned novelists, one stout and outspoken, the other gaunt and skeptical, meet regularly in a bustling cabaret to swap stories and spar over their differing visions of fiction. Their camaraderie, forged over years of rivalry, is as lively as the dishes they share, and each dinner becomes a stage for playful debates about plot, character, and the moral compass of their heroes.
Through witty, rapid‑fire dialogue the pair reveal the stark contrast between a writer who populates his pages with flawless, virtuous figures and another who delights in flawed, scandal‑prone protagonists. Their conversations expose the absurdities of literary criticism and the stubborn pride that drives each to defend his own aesthetic.
Listeners are invited into this bright, slightly chaotic world of Parisian literary salons, where the clash of ideals is as entertaining as the tales the authors promise to unveil, offering a charming glimpse into the art of storytelling itself.
Language
fr
Duration
~2 hours (165K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
France: J. Ferenczi et fils, 1926.
Credits
Laurent Vogel and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica))
Release date
2022-08-23
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1867–1926
A sharp, observant French novelist and critic, his books often drew on life in Touraine and the small dramas of family and society. Elected to the Académie française in 1918, he became known for graceful, finely detailed portraits of manners and memory.
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