Novel
The Perverted Peasant
Le Paysan perverti
Opening lines
Notre famille n'eſt point diſtinguée par les titres, ni par les grands biens; nous ſommes Paysans de Père en Fils: mais nos Ancêtres étaient un-peu plus riches que nous ne le ſommes.
Our family is not distinguished by titles, nor by great wealth; we are Peasants from Father to Son: but our Ancestors were a little richer than we are.
Translation by Erostrate
Text quoted from archive.org
Synopsis
Edmond, a sixteen-year-old Burgundian youth raised in the countryside, goes to study painting at Auxerre with the artist Parangon. In the letters he writes to his brother Pierre, who has stayed in the village, and which other characters complete, we follow his discovery of the town, the temptations it offers him and the influence of the libertine Gaudet d'Arras, who despises laws and customs. His sister Ursule in turn comes to town.
Context
The novel appeared in 1775 or in 1776 depending on the sources, under the date 1776, in four volumes, with the subtitle “ou les Dangers de la ville, histoire récente mise au jour d'après les véritables lettres des personnages”. It established its author's reputation. The letters in it come from peasants, bourgeois and nobles, and the book follows the way the town gradually transforms those who arrive there until it leads them into vice.
Who it is for
A long epistolary novel, in which moral purpose is mixed with realism, sensibility and eroticism.
Prizes and reception
Its author's greatest success, followed in 1784 by a sequel devoted to the hero's sister.
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