La marchande de petits pains pour les canards

by René Boylesve

"La marchande de petits pains pour les canards" by René Boylesve is a collection of eighteen short stories published in 1913. The collection takes its name from its opening tale about an elderly bread seller in the Bois de Boulogne. Through these brief narratives, Boylesve explores the lives of ordinary people—servants, workers, retirees, and couples—capturing their quiet struggles, small revelations, and the often-overlooked moments that reveal human nature and social class divisions in early twentieth-century France.