Le Grand Meaulnes

About “Le Grand Meaulnes”

Le Grand Meaulnes is the only novel by French author Alain-Fournier, who died in the first month of World War I. Published in 1913, the novel reflects aspects of the author's life, particularly the name of the heroine Yvonne, who was based on a woman he was infatuated with in Paris. The story is told through the perspective of fifteen-year-old François Seurel, who recounts his friendship with seventeen-year-old Augustin Meaulnes. Meaulnes is portrayed as impulsive, reckless, and heroic, embodying the romantic ideal of searching for the unattainable and exploring the space between childhood and adulthood. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.)