''Clovis Dardentor'' is an 1896 fiction novel by French writer
Jules Verne, written partly as a travel narrative. Compared to other Verne novels, it is a relatively unknown work.
Very common throughout ''Clovis Dardentor'' is Verne's usage of a comedic, slightly
burlesque tone in the narration and in the characters'
dialogues (something which the
narrator
Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...
confirms at a certain point of the novel).
The original illustrations were drawn by designer
Léon Benett
Léon Benett (born Hippolyte Léon Benet; 1839–1916) was a French painter and illustrator. He was born in Orange, Provence. He changed his name to "Léon Benett" to differentiate his career in the French administration from his work as a d ...
.
Plot summary
The novel tells the story of two cousins, Jean Taconnat and Marcel Lornans, travelling from
Cette,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, to
Oran,
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
, with the purpose of enlisting in the 5th
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...
of the ''Chasseurs D'Afrique''.
Sailing to Oran aboard the ''Argelès'', they meet Clovis Dardentor, a wealthy
industrialist. Jean and Marcel, whose desire to travel to Africa arises from their pursuit of financial independence, find out that Clovis —an unmarried man, with no family— has left no heirs to his fortune.
Yet Marcel, well-versed in the Law, knows that any person who were to save Clovis' life either from a fight, from drowning, or from a fire, would have to be adopted by Clovis. The cousins come to a plan: They will find a way to save Clovis' life, so that he will indeed be legally required to adopt them.
Clovis saves the cousins' lives: Marcel is saved from a fire, and Jean is saved from drowning.
Eventually, while Jean continues to look for the opportunity to save Clovis' life, Marcel falls in love with Louise Elissane, the prospective daughter-in-law of one of Clovis' acquaintances, the unpleasant Desirandelle family. Louise becomes a key character in the novel, for it is she who saves Clovis Dardentor's life.
In the end, Louise is adopted by Clovis, and marries Marcel.
Publication history
''Clovis Dardentor'' was first published in France in 1896; and, in 1897, the first British edition, fully illustrated, was published by Sampson Low, Marston, and Company. The book was not published in the U.S. until 2008, when the Choptank Press of
Saint Michaels, Maryland, re-published the Sampson Low version in a fully illustrated
replica edition as a
Lulu Press book.
Film adaptation
In 2013, three British film-makers were in the development stages of ''Killing Clovis Dardentor'', an adaptation of the book.
Writer
Lizzie Hopley
Elizabeth Hopley is a British actress and writer.
She has appeared in several audio plays based on the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Her first appearance was as the Eighth Doctor’s companion Gemma Griffin in '' Terro ...
had written the screenplay for the movie.
References
External links
*
*
1896 French novels
Novels by Jules Verne
Novels set in France
Novels set in Algeria
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