7 h 53 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 53 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a man who lives for old books finds someone who needs him more?
Sylvestre Bonnard knows old manuscripts better than he knows the world outside his study. Gentle, forgetful and quietly vain about his learning, he longs to find a particular manuscript of the Golden Legend. At home, his outspoken housekeeper Thérèse keeps watch over him, while his cat Hamilcar receives his comic respect.
Then the memory of Clémentine, the woman Bonnard loves in his youth, draws him toward her granddaughter, Jeanne Alexandre. Alone in the world, Jeanne needs a protector. Her scheming guardian, Mouche, stands in the way of her happiness. In Anatole France’s short novel, a scholar’s quiet habits meet a duty that books alone cannot answer.
What you’ll discover
- A scholar worth knowing Meet an elderly man whose absent-minded ways sit beside deep learning and a good heart.
- The pull of old manuscripts Share Bonnard’s longing for a medieval book and the quiet intensity of his search.
- Affection with a sharp tongue Enjoy Thérèse’s practical care, outspoken scolding and steady affection for her bookish master.
- Memory becomes a duty Follow the thread from an old love to a young girl who needs help.
- Learning beyond the study Consider what knowledge is for when another person’s happiness calls for more than scholarship.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this if you love bookish heroes, gentle humor, Paris streets, old libraries and stories where kindness matters more than cleverness. It suits anyone who likes a warm, wise voice.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A scholar lives happily among his books
- One lost manuscript upsets a peaceful life
- A journey to Sicily brings comic troubles
- The auction teaches him what longing costs
- A fairy dream leads him to Clementine's daughter
- An old love story explains his lonely heart
- A cruel school and a crooked guardian threaten Jeanne
- A young visitor tests the scholar's generosity
- What the book says about learning and love
Who’s who
- Sylvestre BonnardAn elderly Paris scholar who belongs to the Institute, loves old manuscripts and finds new reasons to care for people.
- ThereseHis deaf, strict, devoted housekeeper, who rules the house and guards her master with fierce pride.
- HamilcarThe dignified cat of the City of Books, Bonnard's only evening companion and silent critic.
- Jeanne AlexandreThe orphaned daughter of Clementine, lively, honest and artistic, who needs a protector.
- Madame TrepofA restless, kind Frenchwoman who collects matchboxes with her husband and hides a good heart.
- Mademoiselle PrefereThe boarding school mistress with a fringed shawl, who wants glory and a husband from the Institute.
- Maitre MoucheJeanne's dry, cautious guardian, a notary whose virtue is only talk.
- GelisA bold young archivist and paleographer who disagrees with Bonnard about history and soon admires Jeanne.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 7 h 53 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 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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Il delitto di Sylvestre Bonnard
by Anatole France · 1881
An aging scholar hunts a lost manuscript, then finds a new purpose in the daughter of his old love.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
What would you give for one old manuscript? Sylvestre Bonnard, an elderly scholar in Paris, would give almost anything.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A scholar lives happily among his books
The story opens on a cold Christmas Eve in 1849. Sylvestre Bonnard, an old historian, sits by his fire on the Quai Malaquais in Paris, surrounded by thousands of books. His only companions are Hamilcar, a dignified cat, and Therese, a housekeeper who rules the house.
A poor book peddler named Coccoz climbs down from the attic with a bundle of cheap yellow books. Bonnard teases him about his wares, then feels sorry for the sickly little man. He buys one book, and he orders Therese to send soup and a fine Christmas log up to the peddler's wife, who has just given birth.
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What is The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard about?
It follows an elderly Paris scholar who travels to Sicily for a rare manuscript, then discovers the orphaned daughter of the woman he once loved. He tries to save her from a cruel boarding school.
What is the crime in The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard?
The title plays on the distance between legal rules, good intentions and a book lover's conscience. The ending explains its more than one meaning.
Who wrote The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard?
Anatole France writes this fictional diary of a Paris scholar whose love of manuscripts draws him into unexpected encounters.
The author
Anatole France
1844–1924 · French novelist
Anatole France (1844–1924) was a French novelist, poet and essayist. He was born in Paris and died in Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, France. His novels include The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard (1881), Thaïs (1890), The Red Lily (1894), Penguin Island (1908) and The Revolt of the Angels (1914).
More by Anatole France
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