Excelsior: Roman parisien

In a cramped 19th‑century seminary, a chorus of eager boys answer a Jesuit’s probing question about their futures. While some picture modest careers as clerks or soldiers, the lanky, outspoken Jacques de Mérigue declares with theatrical flair that he will be “emperor of the world,” sparking both amusement and irritation among his teachers. The opening scenes blend sharp humor with a vivid portrait of a young mind that refuses to bow to conventional expectations.

Jacques’s restless intelligence soon collides with the rigid curriculum, pushing him from literature to mathematics and ultimately to a brilliant yet uneasy mastery of the sciences. Though his family’s modest means limit his options, a fortuitous patron secures him a modest post in the Ministry of Worship, where his grandiose ambitions clash with the sober realities of bureaucratic life. As he navigates this precarious balance, the novel sketches the early contours of a character whose dreams of grandeur are both his greatest strength and his most troubling burden.