
A weary prosecutor, spent his career crushing the hopes of hapless litigants, decides to spend his remaining years in comfort. He marries a striking young widow, hoping to secure a tidy dowry and a quiet household, and the couple retreats to a secluded boudoir furnished with an unusually luxurious couch. The setting is ripe for intrigue, as the newlyweds argue over the couch’s allure while the prosecutor’s hardened demeanor begins to soften under his wife’s charms.
In a sudden, uncanny turn, the seemingly ordinary sofa morphs into a handsome young man who claims to be a transformed noble from the Ardennes. He offers to recount the strange adventure that turned him from a hunter into a piece of furniture, hinting at a world of hidden magic and unexpected destiny. As the couple listens, the couch‑turned‑knight’s tale promises to upend their expectations and draw them into a mystery that lies far beyond a simple marital arrangement.
Language
fr
Duration
~55 minutes (53K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by René Galluvot (from images generously made available by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at http://gallica.bnf.fr)
Release date
2019-12-14
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
1706–1760
A restless 18th-century French writer and traveler, he turned his sharp eye on society, manners, and politics in works that mixed satire with firsthand observation. Best known for Le Cosmopolite, ou le Citoyen du monde, he wrote with the wit and provocation of a born wanderer.
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