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In a richly appointed salon filled with gilded church memorabilia, a diminutive yet imperious Cardinal‑Archbishop presides over a tense council of clergy. While dictating a pastoral letter about harmony and obedience, he is drawn into a subtle battle of wits with his eager vicar‑general, who argues for a more cautious stance in the wake of political upheaval. Their exchange, peppered with references to parliamentary decline and upcoming visits from military and civil dignitaries, reveals a world where ecclesiastical ceremony masks a fragile quest for stability.
The drama deepens when the celebrated yet weary Abbé Lantaigne arrives, his reputation as the diocese’s finest preacher looming like a fragile ornament. The Cardinal’s feigned admiration and hidden desire to dismiss him set the stage for a nuanced exploration of pride, ambition, and the hidden currents that run beneath the polished surface of clerical life. Listeners are invited to wander through corridors of power where every compliment may conceal a calculated move.
Language
en
Duration
~5 hours (295K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
Release date
2015-09-10
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1844–1924
A witty, skeptical voice of French literature, he turned elegance and irony into some of the most admired books of his time. Best known as a novelist, critic, and public intellectual, he won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Literature.
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by Anatole France

by Anatole France

by Anatole France

by Anatole France

by Anatole France

by Anatole France

by Anatole France

by Anatole France