Three Tales

First published in 1877, these three stories are dominated by questions of doubt, love, loneliness and religious experience, and together form a triumphant conclusion to Flaubert''s literary career. With elegant simplicity, ''A Simple Heart'' relates the story of Félicité - an uneducated serving-woman who retains her Catholic faith despite a life of desolation and loss. Inspired by a stained-glass window in Rouen cathedral, ''The Legend of Saint Julian Hospitator'' describes the fate of Julian, a sadistic hunter destined to murder his own parents. The blend of faith and cruelty that dominates this story may also be found in ''Herodias'' - a reworking of the tale of Salomé and John the Baptist.