Book Description

'Captain Fracasse' is a novel by the French writer Théophile Gautier. It is an adventure novel set in the seventeenth century. The novel recounts the story of the baron of Sigognac during the reign of Louis XIII of France, a destitute nobleman who decides to abandon his castle to join a theatrical troupe out of love for a young actress. Leaving his castle in the care of a faithful old steward, he travels with the actors to Paris; his aim being also to meet the king in Paris to ask for financial help in memory of services rendered by his ancestors. When one of the actors dies, the baron replaces him in the company's productions, taking the stage name of Captain Fracasse and, against his proud nature, acting the part of a bumbling military man.