
In this delicate summer‑scented collection, everyday village life unfolds under a lilac‑tinted shade. A modest potter, a quiet cobbler and a sturdy mason appear in brief, lyrical sketches that capture the rhythm of simple work and the sweetness of seasonal festivals. Their stories mingle with the scent of blooming immortelles, offering a gentle, musical pace that invites listeners to linger in the heat of a July afternoon.
Among the tales, a young naval lieutenant named Jacques falls for the ethereal Yvonne, a pale‑faced maiden whose quiet beauty seems almost holy. Their budding romance is set against the expectations of family and the rigid hierarchies of the navy, creating a tender tension that feels both personal and universal. As the summer shadows lengthen, the narrator weaves humor and warmth into each vignette, making the collection a comforting refuge for anyone who enjoys quiet reflections on love, duty, and the fleeting glow of a sun‑lit day.
Language
fr
Duration
~4 hours (263K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
France: Ernest Flammarion, 1895.
Credits
Véronique Le Bris, Laurent Vogel and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.)
Release date
2023-01-11
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1848–1921
A leading voice of southern France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, his poems and novels are closely tied to the landscapes, sunlight, and local life of Provence. He also built a wide literary career as a dramatist and became a member of the Académie française.
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