| Frritt-Flacc | |
|---|---|
An Illustration by Georges Roux (1886) |
|
| Author(s) | Jules Verne |
| Original title | Frritt-Flacc |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Genre(s) | Horror short story |
| Publication date | December 1884 |
| Published in English |
1892, The Strand Magazine |
"Frritt-Flacc" is a horror short story by Jules Verne. It was first published in December 1884 in the magazine Le Figaro illustré and then in 1886 together with the novel The Lottery Ticket as a part of The Extraordinary Voyages series. The first English translation was published in 1892 in The Strand Magazine.
Frritt expresses the sounds of a roaring hurricane and flacc the sound of falling streams of water during a rainstorm.
Trifulgas, a physician, lives in unnamed coastal area. He is rich and works only for the rich. One night, during a storm, a girl knocks at the door. Her father, a poor fisherman, is dying. Since she has no money Trifulgas goes back to sleep. Soon someone knocks again. It is a woman whose husband is dying. She has some money but not enough so the doctor goes back to sleep. The storm becomes worse when another one knocks. The mother of a fisherman with heart attack has enough money—their house was sold shortly ago. The doctor follows her. A look on the dying man horrifies Trifulgas—it is he who lies in the bed. In spite of all effort, Trifulgas dies under his own hands.
as "Dr. Trifulgas: A Fantastic Tale" (trans. unknown)
as "The Ordeal of Dr. Trifulgas" (trans. Willis T. Bradley)
as "Frritt-Flacc" (trans. I.O. Evans)
as "The Storm" (trans. Alberto Manguel)