5 h 4 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 5 h 4 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What belongs to you when the crowd, your teachers and your habits all claim a share of your mind?
In Maurice Barrès’s A Free Man, Philippe tries to build an inner life that others cannot take from him. He watches his moods, tests his desires and asks what he should keep for himself. The struggle is quiet but demanding: how can he protect his independence without letting other people decide who he is?
Published in 1889, this French novel is the second book in the Cult of the Self trilogy. It offers less a plot than a method of self-examination. Barrès treats freedom as a craft that needs practice, not simply a feeling. Sensations, memories and desires become material to study, enjoy and question as Philippe searches for self-mastery.
What you’ll discover
- A mind at work Follow Philippe as he examines the moods and desires that shape his inner life.
- The pressure of others Explore the threat that crowds, teachers and familiar habits pose to independence of mind.
- Freedom as a craft Consider an approach to freedom built on discipline rather than a passing mood.
- A self in motion Meet a vision of the self as a stream of sensations, memories and desires.
- The pleasure of reflection Settle into slow self-examination, where watching a mind matters more than following fast action.
Who will love it
For readers who love a confiding, witty voice, who enjoy watching a clever mind study itself, and who are curious about youth, friendship and the wish to shape one's own character.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Watching a feeling can strengthen it
- A daily rule trains the feelings
- Other lives reveal only part
- Lorraine gives his feelings a history
- The retreat reaches its breaking point
- Joy belongs in the search
- Independence still depends on belonging
- Sincerity and mockery share a voice
- Making the self raises lasting questions
Who’s who
- The narratorA nervous, witty young Parisian who wants to master his feelings and become a free man, shaping his soul like an instrument.
- SimonThe narrator's cool, physical friend and fellow experimenter, who loves the land and comfort and refuses to obey any authority.
- Benjamin ConstantA dead writer and politician whose divided life the narrator studies as a model of desire and skepticism.
- Sainte-BeuveA young poet of 1828 who later becomes a dry critic, a warning of what the narrator fears to become.
- René IIThe Duke of Lorraine who defeats Charles the Bold and gives his people a sense of themselves.
- Marie BashkirtsefA young diarist the narrator admires, whose ardor moves him in Lucerne even as he condemns her thirst for fame.
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A Free Man
by Maurice Barrès · 1889
Two young men retreat to a Lorraine manor and try to transform their moods into a method.
Challenging2–5 hours to readEnglish
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In short
What if you could train your feelings the way an athlete trains muscles? A young Parisian and his friend Simon decide to try.
A Free Man at a glance
- Reading time
- About 3 h2 h 20 min fast, 3 h 30 min slow
- Length
- 42,300 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1889by Maurice Barrès
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A beach in Jersey gives two friends a method
The book opens on a holiday that goes badly. They have grown into the same kind of young man: nervous, proud and quick to be bored.
Then comes one good afternoon. At Saint-Ouen Bay, a cup of tea settles their stomachs and lifts their spirits. They notice that they enjoy even the memory of their boredom, because they can talk it over with someone who understands. From this small observation they build a theory.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1889
- Language
- English
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Barrès, Maurice. A Free Man. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-free-man.
Barrès, M. (2026). A free man. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-free-man (Original work published 1889)
Barrès, Maurice. A Free Man. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-free-man.
@book{barres2026free,
author = {Barrès, Maurice},
title = {A Free Man},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-free-man},
note = {First published 1889}
}
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What is A Free Man by Maurice Barrès about?
It is a journal novel about a young Parisian and his friend Simon who retreat to a Lorraine manor to train their feelings by method. Their experiment leads through meditation, Lorraine's history, Italy and Venice.
What does the cult of the self mean in this book?
It means treating your inner life as something to study, shape and enrich. The narrator analyses his moods and builds methods to call up feelings at will, hoping to become master of himself.
Who is Simon in A Free Man?
Simon is the narrator's friend since childhood. He is cool, nervous and fond of country life and comfort, and he joins the retreat at Saint-Germain before their paths part.
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