5 h 5 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 5 h 5 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What can a worldly priest teach you about doubt, pleasure, and being kind to human weakness?
In eighteenth-century France, Abbé Jérôme Coignard loves books, wine, and good company. Learned, greedy, and tender, he admits his weaknesses without shame. His young pupil, Jacques Tournebroche, records his opinions, inviting you into a conversation where a sharp mind meets a forgiving heart.
In The Opinions of Monsieur Jérôme Coignard, Anatole France explores religion, morals, learning, love, and society through the abbé’s talk. Powerful families, class divisions, and the habits of scholars come under his amused gaze. This is a novel of ideas rather than fast action, offering laughter without turning away from injustice.
What you’ll discover
- A skeptic with warmth Meet a priest whose doubts leave room for tenderness toward the weaknesses he shares.
- The pleasures of learning Follow Coignard among old books and ancient authors, enjoying knowledge without expecting final answers.
- Society under a gentle gaze See the church, powerful families, and class divisions through the abbé’s quietly questioning eyes.
- Wisdom without a sermon Explore morals and love through talk that invites reflection with a smile rather than a lecture.
- Pleasure joined with pity Consider a modest way of living: enjoy good things and be kind to those who suffer.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy sharp conversation, ironic wit and old Paris street life, or if you like to hear politics, war and law questioned by a kindly mind that jokes while it thinks.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Coignard doubts everything except his faith
- Ministers matter less than people think
- Beware of exchanging a bad master for a worse
- Every voter wants power for his own interest
- Knowledge sharpens the senses but not wisdom
- War is an old animal habit dressed as honour
- Learned bodies and moral crusades are all human
- Justice is useful, not just, and the heart must mend it
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The Opinions of Monsieur Jérôme Coignard
by Anatole France · 1893
A penniless abbé at a Paris bookshop tells his pupil that ministers, wars and judges matter far less than we think.
Challenging5–10 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
Why does a poor abbé in a patched coat insist that kings, ministers and judges matter far less than we imagine? He says it in a Paris bookshop, over wine, and on a quay where a servant girl is carried off to be hanged.
The Opinions of Monsieur Jérôme Coignard at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 50 min2 h 15 min fast, 3 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 40,600 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1893by Anatole France
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
Coignard doubts everything except his faith
The book has no plot in the usual sense. It is a notebook of conversations that France says he found among the papers of Jacques Tournebroche. Tournebroche wrote down what his good master, Abbé Jérôme Coignard, said in bookshops, taverns and on the street.
The preface paints the abbé in a few strokes. He has been a teacher of rhetoric and a bishop's librarian. He owns almost nothing, his coat hangs on by two buttons, and he drinks at the Little Bacchus tavern. France calls him a blend of Epicurus, who freed people from empty fears, and Saint Francis, who led them toward joy.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1893
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 3 h 20 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
France, Anatole. The Opinions of Monsieur Jérôme Coignard. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-opinions-of-monsieur-jerome-coignard.
France, A. (2026). The opinions of Monsieur Jérôme Coignard. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-opinions-of-monsieur-jerome-coignard (Original work published 1893)
France, Anatole. The Opinions of Monsieur Jérôme Coignard. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-opinions-of-monsieur-jerome-coignard.
@book{france2026opinions,
author = {France, Anatole},
title = {The Opinions of Monsieur Jérôme Coignard},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-opinions-of-monsieur-jerome-coignard},
note = {First published 1893}
}
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What is The Opinions of Monsieur Jérôme Coignard about?
It is a book of conversations in which a poor, witty abbé talks with friends and his pupil about ministers, government, war, science, history, modesty and justice. He questions every public belief with humor and a kind heart.
Who is Jacques Tournebroche?
Tournebroche is the roast cook's son from Rue Saint-Jacques who admires Abbé Coignard and writes down his talk. In the book's frame, Anatole France claims to have found his notebook and to publish it as editor.
Does Coignard believe in God and the Church?
Yes, his Catholic faith is the one thing he never questions. He applies his doubts to politics, science, law and custom, and he says he has never turned his reasoning on the truths of faith.
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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