14 h 19 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Can a boy taught that strength is the only law become a man worthy of love?
In Berry, before the French Revolution, orphaned Bernard de Mauprat grows up among violent relatives in the castle of Roche-Mauprat. As an old man, he tells a circle of listeners about his youth. At its heart stands his cousin Edmée, whose courage and belief in him challenge everything he knows.
Taken into the gentle home of Edmée and her father, Hubert, Bernard struggles with pride, shame and a fierce temper. He wants Edmée's love, but wanting is not enough. In Mauprat, George Sand joins romance and adventure to a searching question: can education change a character shaped by cruelty?
What you’ll discover
- A castle ruled by cruelty Enter Roche-Mauprat, where Bernard learns the harsh lessons he must struggle to leave behind.
- Love that asks for change Meet Edmée, a proud, educated woman who asks Bernard to become worthy of her love.
- A courtship tested by jealousy Feel Bernard's hard-won progress come under strain when Monsieur de La Marche appears.
- Wisdom beyond the castle Discover how a priest, a peasant philosopher and a loyal mole-catcher help shape Bernard's mind.
- The making of character Explore Sand's belief that education can challenge violence, through one stubborn young man's struggle.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like long, emotional stories with a moral question at the center, and anyone curious about French life before the Revolution. It may be less suited to those who want fast plotting or a modern, cynical view of love.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A boy raised among robber barons
- Edmée comes to the castle
- Learning to be a man worth loving
- Jealousy, violence and a promise in doubt
- Across the sea and into a changing age
- What the novel argues and how it speaks
Who’s who
- Bernard de MaupratThe orphaned narrator, raised among violent relatives at Roche-Mauprat, who wants Edmée's love and must learn to master his temper to deserve it.
- Edmée de MaupratBernard's educated, proud and brave cousin, who believes that he can be changed and sets him the task of becoming worthy of her.
- Hubert de MaupratEdmée's father, a gentle, cultured nobleman who takes Bernard into his home and hopes to raise him to a better life.
- Tristan de MaupratBernard's grandfather, the hard master of the family castle, who teaches the boy that strength is the only law.
- Abbé AubertA kind and sensible priest who helps teach Bernard and guides his conscience through his early struggles.
- PatienceA peasant of the region with a philosophical mind, who speaks plainly of justice and shows Bernard another kind of wisdom.
- MarcasseA steady mole-catcher and friend of the household whose quiet courage and loyalty help Bernard in times of trouble.
- Monsieur de La MarcheA polished and calm suitor of Edmée, whose presence stirs Bernard's jealousy and tests his progress.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 14 h 19 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Language: Deutsch
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A boy raised among robber barons
Bernard is an orphan, and as a child he is sent to the family castle of Roche-Mauprat. It stands in a wild corner of Berry, and the Mauprats who live there are known for a hundred years of cruelty. They are minor nobles who behave like brigands. They rob travelers, fear no law, and boast of it.
Bernard's grandfather Tristan rules the household, and his uncles Jean and Gaucher share its habits. They teach the boy to hunt, to drink, to fight and to despise anyone who is gentle. Nobody there reads books or speaks of mercy. Bernard grows up thinking that strength is the only virtue and that the world outside is full of enemies and prey.
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The author
George Sand
1804–1876 · French novelist and memoirist
George Sand was the pen name of Aurore Dupin, a French novelist and memoirist. She was born in Paris in 1804 and died at Nohant in 1876. She lived in Paris and Nohant. Her novels include Indiana (1832), Mauprat (1837), The Devil’s Pool (1846), and Little Fadette (1849).
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What is Mauprat about?
Mauprat tells how Bernard, raised by violent relatives in a ruined castle, falls in love with his educated cousin Edmée. To win her respect, he must learn to read, to think and to control his temper.
When was Mauprat written and where is it set?
George Sand published Mauprat in 1837. The story is set in Berry, in central France, in the decades before the Revolution of 1789, and it is told by Bernard as an old man looking back.
Is Mauprat a true story?
No, it is a work of fiction. Sand drew on the landscape of Berry, where she grew up, and on Enlightenment ideas about education, but the characters and events are her own invention.
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