This book will be of interest to scholars working in the fields of literary criticism, literary theory, especially those interested in modern critical theory and 18th- and 19th-century French fiction. The five readings of these French short stories are preceded by a translator's introduction on Finas's work; two short pieces by Finas herself in which she describes her approach; and Roland Barthes's preface to Le Bruit d'Iris (a selection of essays by Finas). The Appendix includes the complete text in English translation of two of the five short stories: Sade, Florville and Courval, translated by Lowell Bair, and Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, The Brigands, translated by Hamish Miles, both excellent translations, now out of print.