A short tale of thwarted love and passion set in the American wilderness, Chateaubriand’s

was

first published in 1801. It is now most often read alongside its companion tale

(1802), and Chateaubriand published them together in 1805. Both tales, however, can also be situated within two very different longer works. In 1802 Chateaubriand integrated them within his influential apologia,

[

]. Less obviously, both

and

were first conceived as part of an epic called

that recounts the defeat of a Native American tribe. An admirable re-edition of

(by Jean-Claude Berchet, 1989) makes it possible for readers to situate the two tales in their original context, which is invaluable since the main…

1817 words

Citation: Yee, Jennifer. "Atala". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 February 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11157, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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