Modern English readers may likely find "King Candaules" the most exciting of the stories in terms of the strength of its narrative, but much of Gautier's writing is so compelling because of his spectacular descriptions and elaborate style, which befits the extravagance of the subject matter, especially in "One of Cleopatra's Nights". The shorter stories in between are worth reading for reasons which are unique to each of them, but "Clarimonde" deserves special mention: it is of a genre that is well-known to modern readers, and has to be considered one of the greatest of its kind. (Goodreads)