Hachette, coll. Bibliothèque verte n°185, 187 pages.
Alongside Don Quixote and Cyrano de Bergerac, the honoured bandit Mandrin Belle-Humeur has his place in Françoise’s pantheon. She also dedicated a book to him in 1957. Our French Robin Hood shares the limelight here with an 11-year-old girl who displays an audacity, courage and commitment “not expected of people of her sex”, to paraphrase an 18th-century phrase.
This novel from the Bibliothèque Verte, much better written than the rest of the collection as far as I remember, is very much in line with Françoise’s other children’s books: colorful and meticulous descriptions, realistic historical context, adventures and twists in all chapters. A book quite suited to instilling a taste for literature. (Vincent)