Scaramouche
Encyclopedia
Scaramouche is a historical novel
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
by Rafael Sabatini
Rafael Sabatini
Rafael Sabatini was an Italian/British writer of novels of romance and adventure.-Life:Rafael Sabatini was born in Iesi, Italy, to an English mother and Italian father...
, originally published in 1921.
It was subsequently adapted into a play by Barbara Field
Barbara Field
Barbara Field is a playwright whose work has been seen at theaters across North America and Europe. Currently a resident of Minneapolis, Ms. Field is a co-founder of The Playwrights' Center, and served as playwright-in-residence at the Guthrie Theater for eight years...
and into feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
s, first in 1923 starring Ramón Novarro
Ramón Novarro
Ramón Novarro was a Mexican leading man actor in Hollywood in the early 20th century. He was the next male "Sex Symbol" after the death of Rudolph Valentino...
, Scaramouche
Scaramouche (1923 film)
Scaramouche is a silent costume adventure based on the novel by Rafael Sabatini, directed by Rex Ingram, released by Metro Pictures, and starring Ramón Novarro, Alice Terry, Lewis Stone, and Lloyd Ingraham....
(1923), and a remake
Scaramouche (1952 film)
Scaramouche is a 1952 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer romantic adventure film based on the 1921 novel Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini as well as the 1923 film version starring Ramón Novarro. The film stars Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, and Mel Ferrer. It was directed by George Sidney and...
in 1952 with Stewart Granger
Stewart Granger
Stewart Granger was an English-American film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s rising to fame through his appearances in the Gainsborough melodramas.-Early life:He was born James Lablache Stewart in Old...
. A romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
adventure, Scaramouche tells the story of a young lawyer during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. In the course of his adventures he becomes an actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
portraying "Scaramouche" (also called Scaramuccia
Scaramuccia
Scaramuccia, also known as Scaramouche, is a roguish clown character of the Italian commedia dell'arte who wears a black mask and black trousers, shirt and hat. He is usually portrayed as a buffoon or boastful clown; in this latter capacity, he can be considered a smaller derivative of Il Capitano...
, a roguish buffoon
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
character in the commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened...
). He also becomes a revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
, politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, and fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
-master, confounding his enemies with his powerful orations and swordsmanship
Swordsmanship
Swordsmanship refers to the skills of a swordsman, a person versed in the art of the sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword...
. He is forced by circumstances to change sides several times. The book also depicts his transformation from cynic to idealist. The later film version includes one of the longest swashbuckling sword-fighting scenes ever filmed.
The three-part novel opens with the memorable line: "He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad." This line was to become Sabatini's
Rafael Sabatini
Rafael Sabatini was an Italian/British writer of novels of romance and adventure.-Life:Rafael Sabatini was born in Iesi, Italy, to an English mother and Italian father...
epitaph
Epitaph
An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...
, on his gravestone in Adelboden
Adelboden
Adelboden is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland.-Geography:Adelboden lies in the west of the Berner Oberland, at the end of the valley of the Engstlige river, which flows in Frutigen into the Kander river.Adelboden is a...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
In 1922, after a trip to the United States, composer Darius Milhaud wrote a theatrical piece, Scaramouche, for saxophone and orchestra.
The robe
Andre-Louis Moreau, educated as a lawyer, lives in BrittanyBrittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
with his godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
, M. de Kercadiou, who refuses to disclose Moreau's parentage. Moreau considers Aline, Kercadiou's niece, as his cousin. Because he loves her as a cousin he warns her against marrying the Marquis de la Tour d'Azyr; however, she is ambitious and wishes to marry high, so she ignores him. A peasant, Mabey, is shot by the Marquis de la Tour d'Azyr for poaching. Moreau's closest friend, the idealistic Philippe de Vilmorin, denounces the act as murder. He is provoked to a duel with the Marquis and killed for his "gift of eloquence" which the Marquis fears would set the Third Estate against the privileged estates
Estates of the realm
The Estates of the realm were the broad social orders of the hierarchically conceived society, recognized in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period in Christian Europe; they are sometimes distinguished as the three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and commoners, and are often referred to by...
. Moreau then vows to avenge the death, and sets off from his hometown of Gavrillac for Rennes
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
to the King's lieutenant in Brittany, to see justice done. After being brushed off by the arrogant official, who refuses to act against a man of the Marquis' status, Moreau discovers a large political gathering. Much to the surprise of his peers, he delivers convincing rhetoric, using Vilmorin's arguments. Moreau goes on to Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
and whips up the crowds there. These events set the stage for the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, and make Moreau a wanted man.
The buskin
To hide from the law, Moreau joins a troupe of travelling Commedia dell'ArteCommedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened...
actors under M. Binet. He takes on the role of Scaramouche, the scheming rogue. He discovers an aptitude for acting and writing, which propels the troupe from near-poverty to success which takes them to the Feydau theatre in Nantes. Binet, who plays Pantaloon
Pantalone
Pantalone, or Pantalone del bisognosi, Italian for 'Pantalone of the needy', is one of the most important principal characters found in commedia del arte...
, grows ever more resentful of Moreau and his influence in the troupe. Moreau becomes engaged to Binet's daughter, but she, disappointed to find out that Moreau is of no account, accepts a proposal from the Marquis to become his mistress. The Marquis, now notorious for brutally quelling an uprising in Rennes
Rennes
Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...
, is lying low in Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
. When the Marquis attends a performance, Moreau reveals the latter's presence to the audience and sparks a riot. When Binet, furious for being ruined, attacks him, Moreau shoots in self-defence. Binet is wounded, Moreau escapes.
The sword
Moreau is now forced to go into hiding. He finds a fencing academy seeking "a young man of good address with some knowledge of swordsmanship". Moreau bluffs his way into apprenticeship with M. des Amis, the Maître en fait d'Armes (Master at Arms). Over time, he develops his own style of fencing, based on calculations of different moves. With the outbreak of the French Revolution, M. des Amis is killed, and Moreau inherits the school. When he is established at the school, he attempts a reconciliation with his godfather. The reconciliation, however, is brief. Moreau's friends convince him to take a seat in the new congress when they find out about his swordsmanship. They face the scourge of spadassinicides, aristocratic senators who have been provoking the inexperienced republicans to duel and wounding or killing them. Andre-Louis turns the tables and succeeds in killing or disarming all who challenge him. Finally, Moreau manages to goad the Marquis to challenge him to a duel. At last he can confront the murderer of his childhood friend, Philippe de Vilmorin. Having heard of this, Mme. de Plougastel, a relative whom he has seen only twice in his life, goes with Aline to stop the duel. They do not arrive in time, finding the Marquis wounded, though not fatally. The Marquis becomes a counter-revolutionary.In 1792, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
is up in arms and the Tuilleries are stormed by a mob. Plougastel and Aline are in grave danger. The former's husband is a counter-revolutionary. Moreau, returning from an errand in Brittany, goes to rescue them, bringing travel permits to leave Paris. Kercadiou reveals to Andre-Louis that Mme. de Plougastel is his mother. La Tour d'Azyr, on the run, ends up in the same apartment. He and Andre-Louis draw pistols on each other. Mme. de Plougastel is forced to reveal that the Marquis is Moreau's father. Because of his recent actions, Moreau knows that he can't remain in Paris, so crosses the border with the women.
Scaramouche the Kingmaker
A decade later, Sabatini wrote a sequel titled Scaramouche the Kingmaker that was not as well received.External links
- Scaramouche – Audio Book – Free, public domain, Librivox audio recording of Scaramouche (complete text)