Anecdotes of Destiny and Ehrengard [Paperback]

Isak Dinesen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1993

In the classic "Babette's Feast," a mysterious Frenchwoman prepares a sumptuous feast for a gathering of religious ascetics and, in doing so, introduces them to the true essence of grace. In "The Immortal Story," a miserly old tea-trader living in Canton wishes for power and finds redemption as he turns an oft-told sailors' tale into reality for a young man and woman. And in the magnificent novella Ehrengard, Dinesen tells of the powerful yet restrained rapport between a noble Wagnerian beauty and a rakish artist.
Hauntingly evoked and sensuously realized, the five stories read and novella collected here have the hold of "fairy stories read in childhood . . . of dreams . . . and of our life as dreams" (The New York Times).

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

These two collections of Dinesen's tales feature her signature gothic style and romantic subject matter.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Dinesen's stories are the work of a writer with a powerful imagination and a shrewd intelligence." -- The New York Times Book Review

In the classic "Babette's Feast," a mysterious Frenchwoman prepares a sumptuous feast for a gathering of religious ascetics and, in doing so, introduces them to the true essence of grace. In "The Immortal Story," a miserly old tea-trader living in Canton wishes for power and finds redemption as he turns an oft-told sailors' tale into reality for a young man and woman. And in the magnificent novella Ehrengard, Dinesen tells of the powerful yet restrained rapport between a noble Wagnerian beauty and a rakish artist.

Hauntingly evoked and sensuously realized, the five stories and novella collected here have the hold of "fairy stories read in childhood...of dreams...and of our life as dreams" (The New York Times).

"[Dinesen's] imagination could visit, it seemed, any corner of European history and find there a tale tinged with the luster and vivid shadowing of medieval allegory." -- John Updike

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (June 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679743332
• ISBN-13: 978-0679743330
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #296,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Immortal Story and Others, November 7, 2008

By 

Lawrence (Christchurch NZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anecdotes of Destiny and Ehrengard (Paperback)

It's a fact that the best stories of all are those that nowadays are told mainly to children. No grown-up author would dare to invent a story like "The Snow Queen", "Thumbelina" or "Beauty and the Beast", and few would be able to.
If any writer comes close to the unforced magic of those stories no-one ever had to write, it must be Isak Dinesen. Sadly her output of fiction was small: this book, "Seven Gothic Tales", "Winter's Tales", "Last Tales", and her novel, the curious "Angelic Avengers", not quite a parody but not exactly serious, an entire book written in inverted commas.

Is there such a thing as Destiny? Do our intertwining lives somehow form a pattern like an inconceivably vast parquet-floor? Looking around I'm forced to say, No. But the creators of the "Arabian Nights" thought so, and Karen Blixen, at least when she turned into Isak Dinesen, clearly agreed with them, or tried to. Perhaps that's why she liked to dwell in the past, usually the late 18th or early 19th centuries, when it still seemed credible that a life might form an intricate shape, as if poured into a mould.

These stories are conceived and executed with a skill as dazzling as lightning and as quiet as summer grass. You feel she could amaze the reader far more if she chose, but that her profound courtesy prevents her. When she pauses for a moment to explain how her characters feel or why they react the way they do, she tells you things so piercingly correct that you feel almost shocked. At the bottom of these stories is a mystery that is not at all philosophical, a sadness that is not tragic, a poetry not made up of beautiful words, and a wisdom like that of a child who says things that she herself doesn't understand.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another set of fabulous stories from Isak Dinesen, November 22, 2000

By 

"candu66" (Austin, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anecdotes of Destiny and Ehrengard (Paperback)

The stories in this book are completely in line with all her other works. Absolutely amazing! I highly recommend it to both newcomers and people who have already taken an interest in this author. But beware! Once you start reading the fantastic stories from this lady, you will want more.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anecdotes of Destiny, December 13, 2007

By 

John S. Glascom "jglascom" (Providence, RI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anecdotes of Destiny and Ehrengard (Paperback)

This volume contains Babette's Feast which is the basis for the Oscar winning movie of the same name. A simple, beautifully told story of love and redention.