Colomba (novella)

Colomba is a novella by Prosper Mérimée. The novella first appeared on 1 July 1840 in the Revue des Deux Mondes and was collected with two other stories, "La Vénus d'Ille" and "Les Ames du Purgatoire", under the title Colomba, published in 1841 by Magen et Comon.

"Colomba" is set in Corsica, which Mérimée had visited in his capacity as an inspector of historical monuments. It tells of Lieutenant Orso della Rebbia's return to Corsica, where his sister, Colomba, tries to persuade him to avenge the death of their father.

Employing techniques that would later become core to the classic detective story, such as false clues, the manipulation of point of view, and the delayed revelation of the killer, "Colomba" foreshadows the development of the detective genre within a revenge narrative.