It as the vision and feel of money that sparked feverish excitement in Madame Chanteau, sweeping aside Pauline's paltry sixty thousand in her dream of conquering this newcomer with her fortune intact. The two become so close, however, that the family can eventually find a new excuse for relying on her money, as Lazare and Pauline become engaged when they are married, it will then be all in the family, after all.īut there's also another girl, just a bit older than Pauline, in the Chanteaus' circle: Louise, whose mother had died in Madame Chanteau's arms and who comes to visit for a couple of weeks every year.įor all his devotion to Pauline, Lazare also comes to find himself attracted to her - and Madame Chanteau's eyes eventually also grow wider as she thinks about Louise's two hundred thousand franc dowry versus Pauline's by then depleted fortune: Ī close relationship develops between cousins Pauline and Lazare, and eventually her funds are also used to finance some of his grand schemes - all of which end in predictable failure. Pauline settles in well enough, but her money is of course a great temptation, and soon Madame Chanteau is dipping into the stash - always with Pauline's consent, but still. Pauline brings with her a substantial little fortune - 'one hundred and fifty thousand francs invested in solid stocks and shares' - and, while the Chanteau family is to get an allowance for her room and board, the money is to be kept in trust until she comes of age - but the Chanteaus' own financial situation is somewhat precarious, thanks to poor investments. The set-up already suggests the inevitable: ten-year-old Pauline Quenu is orphaned, and her aunt and uncle, the Chanteaus, are named her guardians they bring the young girl from Paris to the desolate seaside town of Bonneville where they live with their son, Lazare, who has taken his baccalaureat exams but is uncertain of what to do next.

In its outlines, The Bright Side of Life sounds like any of hundreds of other nineteenth century novels, its basic arc and so much of what happens so very predictable. 1901), and by Jean Stewart, as Zest for Life (1955)ī+ : much of the basic story too familiar and predictable, but goes just far enough beyond that too Previously translated by Ernest Alfred Vizetelly, as How Jolly Life Is ! (1886, rev.Translated and with an Introduction by Andrew Rothwell.The twelfth volume in the Rougon-Macquart series.General information | our review | links | about the author Trying to meet all your book preview and review needs.

Bright side book series