author
Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Ortoli
b. 1861
Drawn to folklore and storytelling from an early age, this Corsican writer helped preserve the island’s oral traditions in print. His work moves between collected folk tales and literary retellings, giving old stories a warm, readable life.
1 Audiobook
Evening Tales
by Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Ortoli
About the author
Born on December 9, 1861, in Olmiccia-di-Tallano, Corsica, Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Ortoli was a French man of letters and folklorist. He was the son of Antoine-Lucien Ortoli, a poet, and he developed his taste for literature early before pursuing literary studies on the mainland.
Encouraged by the scholar Gaston Paris, he published Les Contes populaires de l'île de Corse in 1883, a book that helped bring Corsican oral tradition to a wider audience. His writing is closely tied to the stories, legends, and popular imagination of his native island.
Ortoli is also known to English-language readers through Evening Tales, presented as stories translated from his French. His legacy rests on his role in preserving and sharing folklore, especially the rich storytelling traditions of Corsica.