Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini
"Scaramouche" by Rafael Sabatini is a historical novel set during the tumultuous period of the French Revolution, centered on the character of André-Louis Moreau. Recently graduated from law school, Moreau returns to his village, where he navigates complex relationships, including a secretive past related to his parentage and the ambitious pursuits of his cousin Aline. The story ignites with the tragic death of a friend, priest Philippe de Vilmorin, at the hands of the duplicitous Marquis de La Tour d'Azur, prompting Moreau to seek revenge and champion revolutionary ideals.
As political unrest brews, Moreau joins a theatrical troupe, adopting the persona of Scaramouche, a clever and rebellious character. His performances become a platform for revolutionary sentiments, attracting both supporters and enemies. Moreau's journey leads him to Paris, where he becomes embroiled in duels with aristocrats and navigates intricate family revelations. The narrative intertwines themes of love, loyalty, and the fight for justice, culminating in a personal and political reckoning that shapes his future alongside Aline. "Scaramouche" offers a rich tapestry of adventure and romance set against the backdrop of a nation in upheaval, exploring the intersections of personal ambition and collective struggle.
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Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini
First published: 1921
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Historical
Time of plot: 1789-1792
Locale: France
Principal characters
Andre-Louis Moreau , a young lawyerQuintin de Kercadiou , Moreau’s godfatherAline de Kercadiou , Quintin’s nieceMadame de Plougastel , Quintin’s cousin and Moreau’s motherPhilippe de Vilmorin , Moreau’s best friend, a seminary studentMarquis de La Tour d’Azyr , a brigadier in Louis XVI’s armiesM. Binet , head of a theatrical troupeClimene Binet , his daughter, an actress, and Moreau’s fiancéBertrand des Amis , a fencing academy owner
The Story:
Andre-Louis Moreau, a recent law school graduate, returns to the home of his godfather, Quintin de Kercadiou, in the small country village of Gavrillac. Moreau’s parentage is unknown, but it is widely believed that Moreau is the illegitimate son of Kercadiou, who has also been raising his own niece Aline. Ambitious to join Versailles high society, Aline is being courted by the powerful and much older Marquis de La Tour d’Azur, considered one of the best swordsmen in France.
Moreau and the Kercadious are visited by a young priest, Philippe de Vilmorin, a devoted friend of Moreau. An idealist afire with the revolutionary spirit starting to sweep France, Vilmorin hopes to persuade La Tour to provide reparations for the family of a peasant killed on the marquis’s property. La Tour, however, tricks Vilmorin into a duel. The priest has no sword-fighting experience, and La Tour kills him.
Distraught and angry, Moreau vows to avenge Vilmorin’s murder and take up his fight for freedom. Hoping to obtain justice for his friend, Moreau travels to the Palais de Justice in the city of Rennes, where his pleading falls on deaf ears. Moreau takes advantage of political gatherings and uses Vilmorin’s arguments to incite the crowds in Rennes and nearby Nantes to take up the revolutionary cause. Moreau is charged with sedition and forced to flee for his life.
Moreau joins the Binet Troupe, an amateurish theatrical company that plays throughout the French countryside. Moreau starts as a stagehand but gradually begins to write new scenarios for the actors and takes on the acting role of Scaramouche, an impudent, sly comedic character. The troupe’s fortunes begin to turn, and the company moves from makeshift outdoor theaters to real theaters to the Théâtre Feydau in Nantes, a provincial Comedie-Francaise, where it receives an enthusiastic reception.
M. Binet, the troupe’s head, resents Moreau’s growing influence and becomes further incensed at the engagement of Moreau to his daughter Climene. While initially infatuated with Moreau, Climene, with the support of her father, instigates an affair with La Tour, hoping the marquis will open doors for her in the great theaters of Paris. Aline, hearing of the affair, breaks off all contact with La Tour.
Nantes is alive with revolutionary fervor, and Moreau (as Scaramouche) starts inserting prorepublican lines into his nightly performances, further enraging Binet. Disgusted with Binet’s political timidity and with Climene’s sordid affair with his sworn enemy, Moreau concocts a scheme to avenge himself against La Tour. Knowing La Tour will be in the audience one night, Moreau creates a new scenario that denounces the marquis as a coward and calls upon the audience to fight for French freedom. A riot breaks out in the theater. Moreau shoots and wounds Binet, and he is forced to flee again.
Moreau escapes to Paris, where he is employed by fencing master Bertrand des Amis as an assistant. By reading fencing treatises and practicing at night, Moreau develops new techniques and ultimately surpasses Amis as a swordsman. When Amis is killed by German troops hired by King Louis XVI, Moreau takes over the academy. Meanwhile, Aline has moved to Paris to stay with Madame de Plougastel, Quintin’s cousin.
Political unrest is sweeping Paris, and the National Assembly—composed of the nobility, the clergy, and the Third Estate (the common people and the bourgeoisie)—has been formed to draft a constitution. Members of the Third Estate, however, are being murdered by La Tour, who has been systematically provoking duels with them. Two members of the National Assembly—President Le Chapelier and Georges Danton—ask Moreau to join the assembly, not only for his political views but also for his excellent swordsmanship.
Moreau joins the assembly, and within a week he has either killed or wounded five aristocratic members. A few days later, he provokes a duel with La Tour. Aline, believing that La Tour is the superior swordsman, asks him not to duel with Moreau, but the marquis refuses, ending any hope he has of gaining her love. On the day of the duel, Moreau prevails, severely wounding the marquis in the arm. With his pride wounded, La Tour retires from the National Assembly and joins the royalist secret service.
In August, 1792, a mob storms the Tuileries palace, where King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette are residing, ending the monarchy in France. Fearing for their safety, Aline and Madame de Plougastel try to flee Paris for Gavrillac, but they are turned back by guards. Kercadiou appeals to Moreau, who has continued to work for the National Assembly, to save the two women. When Moreau balks at saving Madame de Plougastel, the wife of a counterrevolutionary, Kercadiou confesses to Moreau that Madame de Plougastel is his mother.
With safe conduct passes in hand for the two women, Moreau returns to Paris to rescue them, only to find La Tour hiding from the mob in their home. Moreau refuses to save La Tour until Madame de Plougastel reveals to Moreau that La Tour is his father. The confession stuns both men, but Moreau hands a pass to La Tour, who escapes for Austria. Moreau then escorts both women from Paris. In the final chapter, Moreau, Aline, and Madame de Plougastel make plans to emigrate from France. Aline and Moreau finally confess their love for one another.
Bibliography
Knight, Jesse F. “Rafael Sabatini: The Swashbuckler as Serious Artist.” Romanticist 9/10 (1985/1986): 1-22. A lengthy discussion of the life and literary career of Sabatini. Provides a list of all his works, including his uncollected short stories and film adaptations of his novels.
McAlpin, Edwin A. “Sin and Its Consequences.” In Old and New Books as Life Teachers. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday Doran, 1928. Summarizes the plot of Scaramouche and analyzes the novel’s characters and themes.
Orel, Harold. The Historical Novel from Scott to Sabatini: Changing Attitudes Toward a Literary Genre, 1814-1920. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995. A collection of essays that traces the rise and fall in popularity of the historical novel from Sir Walter Scott to Sabatini.
Overton, Grant. “Salute to Sabatini.” Bookman 60, no. 6 (February, 1925): 728-735. Written at the height of Sabatini’s popularity, this tribute discusses the author’s works, praising him as one of the few writers of historical fiction then remaining.
Pilkington, Ace G. “Reviving Sabatini.” Journal of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters 76 (1999): 245-257. Examines the characters and major themes of Sabatini’s significant works while asserting that he is a greater writer than his critics generally claim.
Voorhees, Richard J. “The Return of Sabatini.” South Atlantic Quarterly 78, no. 2 (Spring, 1979): 195-204. This respected scholar asserts that Sabatini’s fiction is superior to the usual historic fiction of his time and deserves to be read again.