Jacquou le Croquant

by Eugène Le Roy

"Jacquou le Croquant" by Eugène Le Roy is a French social novel written between 1896 and 1897. Set during France's Restoration period after Napoleon's fall, the story follows young Jacquou, who becomes orphaned at nine when his father dies in the galleys and his mother succumbs to poverty. Taken in by a village priest, Jacquou grows into adulthood haunted by the injustices that destroyed his family. His struggle against the powerful Count de Nansac, who controls the region, builds toward a dramatic reckoning that will change his life forever.