French novellas

' ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled Candide: or, All for the Best (1759); Candide: or, The Optimist (1762); and Candide: Optimism''''' (1947). A young man, Candide, lives a sheltered life in an Edenic paradise, being indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism by his mentor, Professor Pangloss. This lifestyle is abruptly ended, followed by Candide's slow and painful disillusionment as he witnesses and experiences great hardships in the world. Voltaire

1845 novel by Prosper Mérimée

1791 erotic novel by the Marquis de Sade

Zadig; or, The Book of Fate (; 1747) is a novella and work of philosophical fiction by the Enlightenment writer Voltaire. It tells the story of Zadig, a Zoroastrian philosopher in ancient Babylonia. The story of Zadig is a fictional story. Voltaire does not attempt any historical accuracy. The singular narrative and unique journey of Zadig still stands as a philosophical reference to “nothing is either good or bad without the comparison of one with the other.”

novella by François-René de Chateaubriand

short novella by François-René de Chateaubriand

novella by Colette

novel by André Gide

novella by Prosper Mérimée

'''''L'Ingénu ( , , ), sometimes subtitled The Sincere Huron''''' in English, is a satirical novella by the French philosopher Voltaire, published in 1767.

short story by Stendhal

book by Georges Bataille

1958 novel by Marguerite Duras

novella by Michel Houellebecq

romantic novella written by Napoleon

novella by Charles Baudelaire; a fictionalised account of Baudelaire’s love affair with a dancer, Jeanne Duval

second part of Proust's novel Swann's Way