Fontaine a L'Ecole Republicaine

Albanese shows how the "traditional" interpretation of La Fontaine's Fables is actually the product of the French Ministry of Education under the Third Republic. Chauvinistic and politically charged, this official reading was disseminated through selective and heavily annotated school editions, uniform teachers' manuals, and popular handbooks preparing students for rigorous, state-controlled examinations. A pioneering study, with rich documentation.