Skulduggery in Helvetia

An imaginary country town nestled among the Swiss hills is home to a tribe of people who do nothing like the others. This is the setting for L'habit fait le moine and other short stories, by one of the most widely read authors of the 19th century: Gottfried Keller.

You may not have heard of the town of Seldwyla. And yet, it’s the stuff of proverbs. In German, when a blunder is made—such as having to dig up a freshly paved road because someone forgot to replace the water pipes—people often exclaim, «Typical of Seldwyla!» This joke comes straight from Gottfried Keller and his collection of short stories *The People of Seldwyla*, the French translation of which was finally published three years ago by Editions Zoé. Les Florides helvètes, meanwhile, have just published the second volume in paperback, which serves as a wonderful prelude to this great series of novels.

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