The Queen?s Caprice—seven new stories presented in English for the first time—reveals Echenoz at the height of his talents. The author takes us on a journey across radically different places and landscapes, giving free rein to a “terrific sense of humor tinged with existential mischief? (L?Express). The title story explores a tiny corner of the French countryside; “Nelson? offers a brilliant miniaturist portrait of the hero of the Battle of Trafalgar; “Babylon? sketches the ancient city of Mesopotamia, based on trace descriptions from Herodotus; and other stories visit the forests of England, the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris, Tampa Bay, and the interior of a submarine. Amid the thrill and allure of this voyage of words, “again and again we pause to savor the richness of Echenoz?s startling, crystalline observations? (Lydia Davis).« less