From the library's free cart of sale leftovers: a 1948 paperback—
Written in 1928 and first published in the U.S. nine years later, this is a comedy of life in an imaginary small town of the Beaujolais region. The plot summary—
A story marketed to "the male palate"—
The author opens with a page-long guide to the characters. The "Masterpiece of Nature" who drives the local men to desperation, and her opposite, the spiteful old maid, are among the large cast of local lovelies, merchants, functionaries, and notables. Some others are "THE CURÉ PONOSSE: A gentle priest who was filled with embarrassment by the confessions of the women of Clochemerle, a town in which the men were not inactive"; a pair of "eloquent" town gossips; "THE GIORDOT FAMILY: Of whom the less said, the better"; and so on (and on)...
Following this long (and rather tiring) list, the author adds that the action is joined by "a great assortment of excited artisans, tradesmen, winegrowers, soldiers, and politicians."
Dated as it may be, I would give this a try, if it weren't for the loose pages. ... Well, that and the moldy smell; nice art, but this is ready for re-tossing into a free pile.
The
1948 French movie version might be fun, at least as a period flick.
A fond tale about the amusing follies of the provincial cousins could have been a good source of post-war cheeriness.
Possibly cheering to the French, that is; the
New York Times was offended by the movie's "feeble attempt to be witty at the cost of considerable bad taste." Said even as Bosley Crowther observed that "the picture is so extensively cut, for good and respectable reasons, that all you will now see on the screen is some rather crude French clowning in a virtually meaningless farce."
From presumably the same time is this Czech poster, with literal "bell-blackbird" rendering of the town's name.
