
Robert, freshly seventeen and freshly out of school, is whisked to the fashionable seaside resort of Folleville‑sur‑Mer to stay at his sister’s lavish villa. The house, owned by his new brother‑in‑law, bustles with elegant young women, carefree aristocrats, and a whirlwind of modern pastimes—tennis, golf, dancing, and even daring aeroplane rides. As the summer heat settles, Robert finds himself drawn into a world that prizes boldness and spontaneity over the strict conventions of his provincial upbringing.
His sister, wary of the “danger” the new environment might pose, watches his quick adaptation with a mixture of anxiety and fascination. While the villa’s glittering social scene offers endless amusement, it also subtly tests Robert’s naïveté, inviting him to navigate the delicate balance between youthful exuberance and the hidden rules of this sophisticated circle.
Language
fr
Duration
~4 hours (254K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Chuck Greif, Carlo Traverso and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at DP Europe (http://dp.rastko.net) from images generously made available by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at http://gallica.bnf.fr
Release date
2006-08-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1867–1926
Best known for elegant, observant novels set in Touraine, this French writer brought social life and provincial manners into sharp focus. He wrote under a pen name and became a respected literary figure in early 20th-century France.
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