Les Lettres de mon moulin, a collection of short stories and tales, shows Alphonse Daudet’s love for Provence. He was a friend of Frédéric Mistral, and his name is associated with the bucolic and picturesque territories of the Alpilles.
A prolific author
Born in Nîmes on 13 May 1840, Alphonse Daudet grew up in Provence. He began a career as a schoolteacher when his father was ruined. He then went to Paris to become a journalist and writer.
A prolific author, Alphonse Daudet has written numerous novels, collections of short stories, plays and autobiographical books. He found his inspiration in his personal experiences. Le Petit Chose, for example, refers to the bankruptcy of his family.
The landscapes and characters of southern France inspired him. Many of the tales and stories in Lettres de mon Moulin take place in Provence. His trilogy about Tartarin de Tarascon offers a funny and endearing vision.
Reading the works of Alphonse Daudet offers a look at Provençal culture.
Lettres de mon moulin
This collection of short stories and tales refers to the Saint-Pierre windmill, located in Fontvieille in the Alpilles. The ballads, fables and stories take place mainly in Provence, but also in Corsica and Algeria.
La Diligence de Beaucaire tells the story of a Parisian who travels to Provence and stops for a while in Baucaire.
The Secret of Master Cornillerelates the difficulties encountered by Master Cornille, a miller near Tarascon, whose mill faces competition from a steam mill.
L’Arlésienne, later adapted into a play, tells of the disappointed feelings of Jan. The country boy falls madly in love with a girl from the city of Arles. An Arlesienne is nowadays a person that everyone talks about, but no one sees.
With Le Poète Mistral, Alphonse Daudet pays tribute to the Provençal language and to its most fervent defender, Frédéric Mistral, one of the seven founders of the Félibrige.
With En Camargue, he invites the reader to a wild duck hunt near the Vaccarès pond. This story allows us to share the daily life of the inhabitants of this wild land: shepherds, manadiers, gamekeepers…
Tartarin de Tarascon, an anti-hero
The character of Tartarin de Tarascon contributed to the popularity of Alphonse Daudet. The leader of the cap hunters of Tarascon has funny and eccentric adventures in three novels.
In Les Aventures prodigieuses de Tartarin de Tarascon, the reader crosses the Mediterranean Sea on a lion hunt in the Atlas Mountains. In Tartarin sur les Alpes, new exploits of the Tarasconnais hero, our anti-hero decides to try mountaineering to restore his reputation. Port-Tarascon allows Tartarin to live even crazier adventures, discovering Papua New Guinea.
Tartarin has become an essential element of folklore in Provence, and its adventures have been adapted into films. The Tarasque Festival, which takes place in early summer in Tarascon, pays tribute to the central figure of Alphonse Daudet’s work.
Alphonse Daudet in Provence: places and visits
Meet Alphonse Daudet during your stay in Provence, visiting the villages of the Alpilles.
Daudet’s mill inspired the writer, especially for the writing of the Lettres de mon moulin. Listed as a historical monument, it is located in the village of Fontvieille.
You can discover the scenery of the Letters of my mill during a road trip: Fontvieille, Maillane, homeland of Frédéric Mistral, Beaucaire, gateway to the universe of Daudet, the pond of Vaccarès and its wild nature, and the city of Arles.
You can also visit Tarascon, the town of Tartarin, for the Tarasque Festival.
