Jeannot and Colin
Written by . Voltaire
Narrated by Cathy Dobson
3/5
()
About this audiobook
In this tale of Jeannot and Colin, Voltaire not only tells an instructive tale, warning of the dangers of sudden wealth and social climbing, but also directs his satirical comments at the vacuous and fickle nouveau riche of his day, the catholic church, private education, and society in general.
Jeannot and Colin are childhood friends. Both come from working-class backgrounds in a rural part of France, but Jeannot's parents, on a trip to Paris, strike it lucky in business and within a short time become very wealthy. They purchase a title, send fine clothes to their son, and order him to Paris. Jeannot's head is turned by the sudden elevation in his status and he lords it over the humble Colin when he leaves.
In Paris, there is a lengthy discussion as to how Jeannot should best be educated for his new role as a young marquis. After rejecting Latin, geography, astronomy, history, and various other possible subjects, they settle on teaching him to dance and hold forth as a wit at dinner parties. All seems to be going well, when one day the bailiffs arrive and repossess all the family's assets. Jeannot is about to learn some very harsh life-lessons.
. Voltaire
Imprisoned in the Bastille at the age of twenty-three for a criminal libel against the Regent of France, François-Marie Arouet was freed in 1718 with a new name, Voltaire, and the completed manuscript of his first play, Oedipe, which became a huge hit on the Paris stage in the same year. For the rest of his long and dangerously eventful life, this cadaverous genius shone with uninterrupted brilliance as one of the most famous men in the world. Revered, and occasionally reviled, in the royal courts of Europe, his literary outpourings and fearless campaigning against the medieval injustices of church and state in the midst of the ‘Enlightenment’ did much to trigger the French Revolution and to formulate the present notions of democracy. But above all, Voltaire was an observer of the human condition, and his masterpiece Candide stands out as an astonishing testament to his unequalled insight into the way we were and probably always will be.
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Reviews for Jeannot and Colin
2 ratings1 review
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Atrocious narration. Also had to listen to her wreck the russian classics on Audible. WTH?