Madame Sans-Gêne, Tome 1
 Roman tiré de la Pièce de Mm. Victorien Sardou et Émile Moreau

by Edmond Lepelletier

"Madame Sans-Gêne, Tome 1" by Edmond Lepelletier, Émile Moreau, and Victorien Sardou is a historical comedy premiered in 1893. A frank-speaking Parisian washerwoman named Cathérine earns the nickname "Madame Sans-Gêne" for her blunt manner. When her husband becomes a marshal under Napoleon, she enters imperial high society but refuses to abandon her common origins. Her unpolished ways clash with court expectations, leading to a confrontation with the Emperor himself over matters of loyalty, class, and an unpaid laundry bill from his early military days.