The Complete Tales in Verse (Contes et nouvelles en vers)

First published three years before the Jean de la Fontaine's Fables began to appear, the verse compositions in Complete Tales in Verse were the fruit of Fontaine's wicked delight in reading Boccacio's Decameron, Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, the works of Rabelais, and others. Marital misdemeanors, resourceful females, and addled males inspire some of the author's most richly inventive plotting, which recasts the source stories in his own witty words. While Rabelais, Voltaire, and Molière are more commonly cited for their comedic virtues, this collection demonstrates Fontaine's deserving place alongside them.