Nouvelles et Contes pour la jeunesse

Madame d’Aubecourt returns to a France still reshaped by revolution, accompanied by her two children, Alphonse and Lucie. Determined to secure her husband’s safe return, she spends two anxious years in Paris before realizing the political climate offers no easy solution. With little choice but to leave the capital, she accepts her father‑in‑law’s invitation to spend the winter in his remote country house, hoping the quieter life will ease both her worries and her family’s finances.

The journey across a snow‑blanketed landscape revives the children’s spirits, especially the energetic fourteen‑year‑old Alphonse, whose playful banter with an old donkey turns the cold march into an adventure. When they finally reach Guicheville, the stern yet weary grandfather greets them in a richly paneled salon, where a modest fire and a single candle offer a brief respite from the harsh winter outside. In this first act, the family must negotiate new loyalties, lingering hopes, and the simple comforts of a home that has waited for them for years.