Merimee's most famous work is the novella
Carmen, a story about jealousy and unfaithfulness. It inspired George Bizet's world-famous Opera-Comique. Some 50 movie adaptations have been made from the story, several of which are filmings of the opera.
Merimee was one of the greatest names of the romantic movement in France. Passionate, destructive love was his subject in many short stories.
The other stories in this collection demonstrate Prosper Merimee's amazing versatility. In "Mateo Falcone" a Corsican's conception of honor forces him to exact a ruthless revenge; "The Storming of the Redoubt" describes an incident in Napoleon's 1812 Russian campaign. In "The Venus of Ille" he produces an unforgettable story of supernatural horror.
