The anthology Fairy news brings together seven fantastic short stories by George Sand.
George Sand is a major literary figure of the 19th century. Novelist and journalist, she distinguished herself in various genres. A whole section of his work, perhaps less known, is notably dedicated to fantastic literature. The Fantask collection has brought these texts together in the anthology Fairy newspublished in September 2022.
As the first prefacer Francis Lacassin reminds us, George Sand became interested in this genre very early on. She spoke on the subject as early as 1839 in Fantasy drama essay, analyzing the works of Goethe, Byron and Mickiewicz. Then the writer herself dedicated her pen to it. This anthology brings together seven texts.
The magic of nature at George Sand
George Sand’s approach to the fantastic is indistinguishable from nature writing. Plants, birds, insects, and even fossils, the novelist was in love with them and we know her for her numerous writings on forests (to be found elsewhere in another essential anthology: nature writings, at Le Pommier). It is not surprising that all of this is poetically interconnected in George Sand. ” I see here that nature works better than fairies “, she narrates in the words of a character.
The texts of George Sand collected in this anthology are anchored in the earth, in the bushes, in the trees, in the fauna… even in the mineral, as for the first text, Laura, of which a geode acts as a portal. Nature comes to life. Inevitably, the lines of reality are all the more blurred: where is the creation of the spirit and where is the magic?
With George Sand, the word is political and her fantastic work is no exception. Fairy news is social discussion. Questioning the world passes by the parable, by the imagery, by the tale. Domination figures can thus hide among the fairies.
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