Tartarin de Tarascon

by Alphonse Daudet

"Tartarin de Tarascon" by Alphonse Daudet is a novel written in 1872. In the Provençal town of Tarascon, hunting enthusiasm has driven away all game, leaving residents to shoot at their own caps. When middle-aged Tartarin reacts excitedly to seeing a lion in a menagerie, the town mistakenly believes he plans an Algerian hunting expedition. To save face, he embarks on an absurd adventure armed with excessive equipment, encountering con artists and misadventures before returning home penniless yet celebrated.