''Tartarin of Tarascon'' () is an 1872 novel written by the French

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

Alphonse Daudet Alphonse Daudet (; 13 May 184016 December 1897) was a French novelist. He was the husband of Julia Daudet and father of Edmée, Léon and Lucien Daudet. Early life Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the ' ...

Synopsis

The Provençal town of

Tarascon Tarascon (; ), sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune situated at the extreme west of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Inhabitants are referred to as Tarasconnais or Tara ...

is so enthusiastic about hunting that no game lives anywhere near it, and its inhabitants resort to telling hunting stories and throwing their own caps in the air to shoot at them.

Tartarin Tartarin is the main character in the French writer Alphonse Daudet's novels ''Tartarin of Tarascon'' (1872), ''Tartarin on the Alps'' (1885) and ''Port Tarascon'' (1890). He is a plump and gullible man who is spurred by the small-town dynamics of ...

, a plump middle-aged man, is the chief "cap-hunter", but following his enthusiastic reaction to seeing an Atlas lion in a travelling

menagerie A menagerie is a collection of captive animals, frequently exotic, kept for display; or the place where such a collection is kept, a precursor to the modern zoo or zoological garden. The term was first used in 17th-century France, referring to ...

, the over-imaginative town understands him to be planning a hunting expedition to Algeria. So as not to lose face, Tartarin is forced to go, after gathering an absurd mass of equipment and weapons. On the boat from Marseille to Algiers, he hooks up with a conman posing as a Montenegrin prince who takes advantage of him in multiple ways. Tartarin's gullibility causes him a number of misadventures until he returns home penniless but covered in glory after shooting a tame, blind lion. A sequel ''Tartarin sur les Alpes'' appeared in 1885, followed by ''Port-Tarascon'' in 1890.

Legacy

Since 1985, a small museum in the town of Tarascon-sur-Rhône is dedicated to the fictional character Tartarin. A festival is held in Tarascon every year on the last Sunday of June to remember Tartarin and the unrelated

Tarasque The Tarasque is a creature from French mythology. According to the ''Golden Legend'', the beast had a lion-like head, a body protected by turtle-like carapace(s), six feet with bear-like claws, a serpent's tail, and could expel a poisonous bre ...

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

''Tartarin de Tarascon'' has been adapted into cinematic form three times, in 1908, 1934, and 1962, with each work being titled after its point of reference. The earliest cinematic version was a short, filmed in 1908 by the pioneering magician-cum-director,

Georges Méliès Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès ( , ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French magic (illusion), magician, toymaker, actor, and filmmaker. He led many technical and narrative developments in the early days of film, cinema, primarily in th ...

. The second effort was the 1934 film, which was directed by Frenchman Raymond Bernard and starred

Raimu Jules Auguste Muraire (18 December 1883 – 20 September 1946), whose stage name was Raimu, was a French actor. He is most famous for playing César in the 'Marseilles trilogy' ('' Marius'', '' Fanny'' and '' César''). Life and career Born in T ...

in the role of Tartarin, as well as Sinoël,

Fernand Charpin Fernand Charpin (30 May 1887 – 6 November 1944) was a French actor. He is known for his role as Honoré Panisse in Marcel Pagnol's Marseille trilogy, beginning with '' Marius'' in 1931. Selected filmography * '' Marius'' (1931) * '' Fanny'' ( ...

, and Charles Camus in other principal roles. The 1962 film was directed by

Francis Blanche François Jean Blanche, known as "Francis Blanche" (; 20 July 1921 – 6 July 1974) was a French actor, singer, humorist and author. He was a very popular figure on stage, radio and in films, during the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Blanch ...

and

Raoul André Raoul André (24 May 1916 in Rabat (Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has ...

, and starred

Alfred Adam Alfred Roger Adam (4 April 1908 – 7 May 1982) was a French stage and film character actor, who usually played weak or villainous roles. Selected filmography *''Speedway'' (1929) - Doctor (uncredited) *'' La Kermesse Héroïque'' (1935) - Jos ...

Jacqueline Maillan Jacqueline Jeanne Paule Maillan (11 January 1923 – 12 May 1992) was a French actress with a career spanning almost five decades, known primarily for her forty theatre productions, she also appeared in more than fifty films (1947 to 1992) ...

Bourvil André Robert Raimbourg (; 27 July 1917 – 23 September 1970), better known as André Bourvil (), and mononymously as Bourvil, was a French actor and singer best known for his roles in comedy films, most notably in his collaboration with Loui ...

, Robert Porte. Belgian composer Arthur Meulemans (1884 -1966) created the "''Ouverture voor Tartarin de Tarascon''" for orchestra in 1955.

External links

* (in English) * (in French) * * * * {{Authority control 1872 French novels Novels set in Algeria French novels adapted into films Novels by Alphonse Daudet Novels about lions Tarascon