Available in two editions: Monotone or Color Illustrations. This is the monotone editioin. Born in the 12th century in Brittany, Marie de France is the first female author of European literature. Her themes of love and gender are provocatively modern in attitude. Her storytelling is frank and unabashed. Her expression is playful and ironic. She aims for the discovery of the deepest meanings of the relations of men and women. Neither her Christian religion nor her historical society obscures the psychology of love which you will find honest and insightful. The text is a broad retelling of English translations, informed by the original French text. Annotations and textual interpolations assist the reader to understand the historical, cultural and religious references. An excerpt of The Art of Courtly Love, the medieval treatise of Eleanor of Aquitaine (themes of which these Lais are representative), accompanies the text for the contemporary reader.