The Complete Fables of Jean de La Fontaine Translated by Norman R. Shapiro

Charming and elegant, Jean de La Fontaine's (1621-1695) animal fables depict sly foxes and scheming cats, vain birds and greedy wolves, all of which subtly express his penetrating insights into French society and the beasts found in all of us.  Norman R. Shapiro has been translating La Fontaine's fables for over twenty years, capturing the original works' lively mix of plain and archaic language.  This newly complete collection is destined to set the English standard for the oeuvre of one of the world's greatest fabulists.

A celebrated master translator, Norman R. Shapiro is a professor of Romance languages and literatures at Wesleyan University.  As the author or translator of many books, he has received a number of awards, including the MLA Scaglione Prize for translation.

“A wonderfully lively and resourceful translator, who knows how to put French wit and charm into English.”—Richard Wilbur, former Poet Laureate of the United States

“Among numerous translations of La Fontaine, Norman Shapiro's work stands out for conveying the spirit and equivalent poetic forms of the Fables without succumbing to the trap of literal rendering or the frustration of transporting unusual rhymes into awkward English.  Shapiro's language sparkles with wit, word play, and even unexpected archaisms, all in keeping with La Fontaine's own style.  Delightful!”—Carroll F. Coates, translator of Waiting for the Vote of the Wild Animals

"More than a prize, this rendering deserves a place with Terence Cave's The Princesse of Cleves, John Cairncross's Phaedra, and Richard Wilbur's Misanthrope in the classical canon "made new" for Frenchless readers of our time and place." —Virginia Quarterly Review

Paper, ISBN:  978-0-252-07381-6   $25.00   
504 pages, 17 illustrations

Available at:
http://www.press.uillinois.edu/
http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/66yzk4qd9780252031441.html
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