TARTARIN DE TARASCON

By A. Daudet.


Translated by Oliver C. Colt.





Introduction.

The tale of Tartarin de Tarascon was written by Alphonse Daudet in 1872,
and was one of the many works which he produced. In it he pokes gentle
fun at a type of Frenchman who comes from the Midi, the area where he
himself was born. Tartarin has characteristics which may remind the
English-speaking reader of Toad of Toad Hall, a boastful braggart,
easily deceived, but good-hearted au fond.

The world he inhabits is, of course, very different from ours. There is
no radio or television, the motor car is no more than a plaything for
the rich. There is only the beginnings of a telephone system. Much sea
transport is still by sailing ship and the idea of mass air travel is in
the realm of science-fiction. France lost the Franco-Prussian war at the
battle of Sedan in 1870, which accounts for the flood of refugees from
Alsasce. She had also, in the 19th century rush to carve up the African
continent, seized among other places, Algeria, which she held in
subjection by force of arms. So-called Big Game Hunters were regarded
with some admiration, and indeed it was a much more perilous activity