Résumé
Résumé de Simon le bouffon
À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
Readers who love a witty narrator, a warm romance and an Edwardian world of clubs, charity and eccentric characters, and who enjoy comedy that carries real feeling underneath.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
What would you do if a doctor gave you six months to live? Simon de Gex, a witty politician, decides to spend them doing good, since he will not be around for the consequences. William John Locke's novel Simon the Jester follows his comic, tender and increasingly tangled campaign of kindness. It gives you a clever narrator, a circus tamer, a dwarf with a cat act, and a story that keeps turning. First, meet Simon in the mud of Murglebed-on-Sea.
Dans ce résumé
- 1A condemned man seeks the most miserable place in EnglandFree
- 2Secrets, farewells and a very generous bank account
- 3A mother's request and a surprising meeting
- 4The plan to send Lola back to her husband
- 5A hunt for the missing captain across the sea
- 6A gambling den and a husband tracked down
- 7What Simon learns about his own heart
- 8The limits of playing archangel
- 9What the story is really about, and how it is told
Point clé 1 sur 9
A condemned man seeks the most miserable place in England
Simon de Gex is a rich, thirty-seven-year-old politician, famous for his jokes. Doctors tell him a rare illness will kill him within six months, and that an operation would kill him at once. He sets out to find the most miserable place in England to think, and a club friend named Renniker sends him to Murglebed-on-Sea.
There, among mud, spitting fishermen and a landlord who drinks at the Red Cow, Simon has an idea. He has been reading Marcus Aurelius, who says a happy man is one who gives himself a good fate through good desires and actions. Simon invents a word for it, eumoiriety, and decides to earn it.
His reasoning is neat. Good deeds usually frighten people because of the consequences. A man who will soon be dead need not fear them, so he can play archangel for fun.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Questions about Simon le bouffon
What is Simon the Jester about?
His plans for others lead to comic mishaps, love and scandal.
What does eumoiriety mean in Simon the Jester?
It is a word Simon invents from his reading of Marcus Aurelius, meaning a happy fate earned by good desires and good actions. Simon hopes to achieve it by doing kind deeds before he dies.
Who is Lola Brandt?
She is a former animal tamer, daughter of a lion tamer, who lives in London and longs for respectability. She is warm, direct and generous, and she becomes central to Simon's life.
Is Simon the Jester a funny book?
Yes, its narrator is full of jokes, quotations and comic scenes, with a dwarf cat trainer and a gambling den. The humor sits beside real feeling, so the story is lively and easy to follow.
What is the main message of Simon the Jester?
The novel suggests that clever plans and jokes cannot replace honest feeling and useful work. Real happiness comes from love, courage and helping other people directly.