L'infâme

In the glittering world of mid‑nineteenth‑century Paris, the Gautripon residence on the Champs‑Élysées dazzles with marble stables, emerald jewelry and a parade of horse‑drawn carriages. Madame Gautripon, a former student of Saint‑Denis, presides over a household where even the youngest child commands a personal staff, while rumors swirl about the source of their prodigious fortune. Guests at the weekly Wednesday soirées gossip that Jean‑Pierre Gautripon, who grew up in modest schools, somehow turned a meager inheritance into an empire of luxury, yet no banker can trace a single transaction.

Enter Léon Bréchot, the son of a self‑made tycoon who built his wealth brick by brick in the railways and canals of Europe. Though only half‑literate, his shrewd eye and iron will have made him a feared yet respected figure among workers and financiers alike. As the two families' ambitions intersect, the story unfurls a satirical portrait of society’s obsession with appearances and the hidden mechanisms that sustain them.