In 1829, Mérimée found a new literary genre that perfectly suited his talents; the "nouvelle" or novella, essentially a long short story or short novel. Between 1829 and 1834, he wrote thirteen stories, following three basic principles; a brief story told in prose; a sparse and economical style of writing, with no unneeded lyricism; and a unity of action, all leading to the ending, which was often abrupt and brutal. In a short period Mérimée wrote two of his most famous novellas, "Mateo Falcone", about a tragic vendetta in Corsica, and "Tamango", a drama on a slave-trading ship, which were published in the "Revue de Paris", and had considerable success.