dfloyd
04-20-2010, 04:52 PM
and too short to be a novella. Just 120 pages or so of enjoyable reading. I am referring to Booth Tarkington's 'Monsieur Beaucaire', an adventure story with a romantic twist. In the reign of Louis XV, Monsieur Beaucaire travels to Bath, England as part of the retinue of the French Ambassador. His passport proclaims he is the ambassador's barber. Beaucaire likes to gamble, and he usually wins. But he is expelled from the Pump Room by the Master of Ceremonies at the urging of an English Lord who would like to take Beaucaire's bankroll without associating socially with such a lowlife as a barber. This sets the scene for a rollicking adventure story with a boy gets girl twist at the end. A humorous story of adventure. Made into a movie with Bob Hope, but the movie is just slapstick and doesn't compare to the book at all.
My copy is beautiful little book bound in a Schumacher damask woven of beige clover leafves. It is illustrated with water colors by Tom Clelland who is probably the best illustrator of 18th century stories such as Tom Jones. The book demonstrates my theory that books are an art form. Tom Clelland is said to be a few generations removed relative of John Clelland, the author of the infamous Fanny Hill. It's too bad Tom Clelland din't have the opportunity to illustrate this famous, or infamous, 18th century pornographic novel.
My copy is beautiful little book bound in a Schumacher damask woven of beige clover leafves. It is illustrated with water colors by Tom Clelland who is probably the best illustrator of 18th century stories such as Tom Jones. The book demonstrates my theory that books are an art form. Tom Clelland is said to be a few generations removed relative of John Clelland, the author of the infamous Fanny Hill. It's too bad Tom Clelland din't have the opportunity to illustrate this famous, or infamous, 18th century pornographic novel.