author
Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Ortoli
b. 1861
A Corsican folklorist and man of letters, he helped bring the island’s oral storytelling tradition into print. His work gathers folk tales, songs, and local traditions with a collector’s care and a storyteller’s warmth.
1 Audiobook
Evening Tales
by Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Ortoli
About the author
Born in Olmiccia-di-Tallano, Corsica, on December 9, 1861, Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Ortoli was a French man of letters and folklorist. French sources describe him as the son of Antoine-Lucien Ortoli, and note that he pursued literary studies before turning seriously to writing and folklore collection.
Ortoli is best known for preserving Corsican oral tradition. His early books include Les Contes populaires de l'île de Corse (1883), followed by Les Voceri de l'île de Corse (1887), works that helped record stories and laments rooted in Corsican culture. English-language readers may also know him through Evening Tales, a translated collection of his stories.
He is remembered less as a novelist than as a careful collector and interpreter of traditional literature. For readers interested in folklore, regional history, and the way spoken tales become lasting books, his work offers a vivid window into nineteenth-century Corsica.