Fables Nouvelles, Tome Second

Abstract

This book remains something of an orphan in this collection. I presumed that I could find something on Rigaud in Shapiro's The Fabulists French, but he is alas not there. There is a section on him in Wikipedia. He lived through turbulent political times. It seems that fable was his strong point. This is the second volume of a two-volume work; the first volume had appeared in 1823. I notice that the first fable here is GA, no doubt developed in dependence upon but differently from La Fontaine. Wikipedia has this to say about Rigaud: c’est pour l’apologue qu’il parait avoir eu une vocation décidée : c’est par les fables qu’il s’est assuré un nom durable car il avait la bonhomie, la modestie et presque la simplicité naïve de La Fontaine. On peut cependant lui reprocher des longueurs et des négligences. Sorry that I cannot write more!