Description

A boisterous tale begins with the birth of a colossal infant, Gargantua, whose extraordinary size is matched only by his insatiable appetite for life. From his earliest days, he is raised in a world of exaggerated feasts, outlandish education, and the playful rivalry of giants, setting the stage for a series of larger‑than‑life escapades. The narrative brims with vivid humor, satirical commentary, and a surprisingly tender look at family and learning.

When Gargantua’s own son, Pantagruel, arrives, the adventure scales even higher. The young giant’s first years are marked by bizarre schooling, strange creatures, and a quest for knowledge that blends absurdity with genuine curiosity. Listeners are invited into a whirlwind of rib‑tickling anecdotes and sharp observations that celebrate both the ridiculous and the profound.

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Language

Duration

~31 hours (1796K characters)

Publisher of text edition

Project Gutenberg

Credits

Produced by Sue Asscher and David Widger TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: The original Project Gutenberg edition of this ebook was a text file prepared by Sue Asscher in 1998, from: "MASTER FRANCIS RABELAIS FIVE BOOKS OF THE LIVES, HEROIC DEEDS AND SAYINGS OF GARGANTUA AND HIS SON PANTAGRUEL", Translated into English by Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty and Peter Antony Motteux. The publisher's name and location were not included. Sue Asscher added the following information regarding the printed book she scanned: "The text of the first Two Books of Rabelais has been reprinted from the first edition (1653) of Urquhart's translation. Footnotes initialled 'M.' are drawn from the Maitland Club edition (1838); other footnotes are by the translator. Urquhart's translation of Book III. appeared posthumously in 1693, with a new edition of Books I. and II., under Motteux's editorship. Motteux's rendering of Books IV. and V. followed in 1708. Occasionally (as the footnotes indicate) passages omitted by Motteux have been restored from the 1738 copy edited by Ozell." In 2013 images obtained from Google Books were added by David Widger in the production of the present HTML file: https://books.google.com/books?id=Lvz_fCWaJf4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:Rabelais&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjZoZizjJPeAhWLzFMKHVPSDqc4ChDoAQg0MAI#v=onepage&q&f=false This ebook and many of the Project Gutenberg ebooks are not taken from a single paper edition as noticed in the standard legalize near the end of each Project Gutenberg Ebook. "Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition." DW

Release date

2004-08-08

Rights

Public domain in the USA.

Gargantua and Pantagruel

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Description

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About the author

François Rabelais