Mauprat (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

George Sand (Author), Sylvia Raphael (Translator), Naomi Schor (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 16, 1998 | Series: Oxford World's Classics

Mauprat (1837) is the romantic tale of a "wild" man civilized by the woman he loves. Deeply engaged with Rousseau's pedagogical treatise �mile, and with contemporary debate concerning inherited and acquired traits and tendencies, Mauprat is an expression of Sand's Utopian vision of a relationship governed by free choice and equality. Naomi Schor's introduction explores these and other aspects of the novel, while Sylvia Raphael's new translation does full justice to the powerfully descriptive qualities of one of George Sand's most exciting and absorbing novels.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

About the Author

Sylvia Raphael's translations for World's Classics include Balzac's Cousin Bette and Eugenie Grandet and Sand's Indiana. She died in 1996.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (April 16, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192824341
• ISBN-13: 978-0192824349
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,430,260 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bernard and Edmee - the cousins, March 21, 2004

By 

A. G. Plumb "Greg Plumb" (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mauprat (Hardcover)

This is the second Sand novel that I have read. Sadly it didn't measure up to the first, 'Indiana', for me. It is too long and the mannered society of the characters is too formal and stilted for me. And there is so much scene setting - it goes on and on and on. In fact I put the novel down for quite a while before I picked it up and read to the finish. And the ending does have more momentum than a lot that went before, but - perhaps a reflection of the time - I am perplexed at how an individual can be charged with murder when no-one has died and, indeed, even be sentenced to execution and, in the end, an execution does take place - still in the absence of a death.

But Bernard - brought up badly by the bad side of the family - is rescued and nurtured by the good side where he falls in love with his second cousin Edmee. And for seven years Edmee resists him - for two of those years he actually flees to America (and yes, I couldn't blame him). Of course, had he been raised in a supportive and caring environment perhaps he could have withstood Edmee's 'indifference' (initially she is betrothed to another, but she is released from that), but with the terrible upbringing he endured Bernard is torn apart by this apparent rejection in the heart of the part of the family that has adopted him.

So why does Edmee keep Bernard at arms length? It is not at all clear to me unless - as is indicated at times - she sees Bernard as mentally unstable (perhaps schizophrenic) and cannot take on the burden of caring for him, physically or in her heart. But she does not send him away either! There is one other possibility that Sand does not explore and that is that Edmee has an unseen physical disability that distracts and torments her in the face Bernard's love. But this is just making excuses for inexplicable behaviour.

Strangely for me, the sanest words in the novel come from the 'murderer' who comes upon Bernard and Edmee 'lost' in the woods. He says that the conversation he overheard nearly made him scream with laughter - Bernard with his childish pleas, Edmee with her haughty indifference. And that is exactly how I saw these two and in the end I really didn't need to spend as much time with them as George Sand has put me through.

It is an interesting novel but for me tedious in its extent and at times laboured in its prose. With unlikeable key characters, I find it hard to recommend.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For many years, my favorite book, January 13, 2007

By 

Alessio Renan Aguirre "Alessio - Ole!" (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mauprat (Paperback)

Now, as any deposed true queen would do, it lives happily in exile knowing that it was pushed aside by such books as The Count of Montecristo, Don Quijote, On the Beach and so on, but, trust me, even thou in exile, this books lives in a palace, with all the servants and courtesans it deserves.