Carmen
by Prosper Mérimée (1803–1870)
- Free to read
- 2 hours to read
- 4 chapters
- Reading level: 6th grade
"Carmen" by Prosper Mérimée is a novella written and first published in 1845. In the lonely hills of Andalusia, a scholar meets a notorious outlaw named Don José, who tells the tale of his tragic downfall. His story revolves around Carmen, a captivating Romani woman whose fierce independence and refusal to be tamed leads to jealousy, violence, and death. This dark narrative of passion and fate later inspired Bizet's famous opera.
- Spain · Social life and customs · 19th century
- Carmen (Fictitious character)
Read the opening
Chapter I
I had always suspected the geographical authorities did not know what they were talking about when they located the battlefield of Munda in the county of the Bastuli-Poeni, close to the modern Monda, some two leagues north of Marbella.
According to my own surmise, founded on the text of the anonymous author of the Bellum Hispaniense, and on certain information culled from the excellent library owned by the Duke of Ossuna, I believed the site of the memorable struggle in which Caesar played double or quits, once and for all, with the champions of the Republic, should be sought in the neighbourhood of Montilla.
Happening to be in Andalusia during the autumn of 1830, I made a somewhat lengthy excursion, with the object of clearing up certain doubts which still oppressed me. A paper which I shall shortly publish will, I trust, remove any hesitation that may still exist in the minds of all honest archaeologists. But before that dissertation of mine finally settles the geographical problem on the solution of which the whole of learned Europe hangs, I desire to relate a little tale. It will do no prejudice to the interesting question of the correct locality of Monda.
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About this edition
This free edition of Carmen by Prosper Mérimée comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #2465, released 2006-03-28. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Romance, Crime, Thrillers and Mystery, Novels, French Literature.
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