Rabevel, ou le mal des ardents, Volume 1 (of 3) : $b La jeunesse de Rabevel

by Lucien Fabre

"Rabevel, ou le mal des ardents, Volume 1 (of 3): La jeunesse de Rabevel" by Lucien Fabre is a novel published in 1923. This Prix Goncourt winner follows Rabevel, a young and ambitious financier in pre-war Third Republic France. He suffers from "mal des ardents"—an exasperation of desire to live and feel everything intensely. Calculating yet passionate, Rabevel sacrifices true love for a marriage of convenience, but remains haunted by unfulfilled longing. His business pursuits become mere outlets for deeper dissatisfaction, blending romance with the ruthless world of early twentieth-century finance.