"The Elm-tree on the Mall" by Anatole France is a late 19th-century novel that examines French social and religious life, specifically how it affects church leaders. The story primarily follows Abbé Lantaigne, a seminary head, and his relationships with other religious figures. The book covers themes of ambition, moral choices, and the struggle between old customs and new ideas within the Catholic Church. The story begins with the Cardinal-Archbishop, who is writing a letter and talking about other priests and a professor named M. Guitrel, and his controversial teachings. Through these conversations, the book reveals tensions between religious devotion and hidden agendas, showing the challenges and moral questions the clergy faces. Abbé Lantaigne emerges as a key character who is deeply worried about keeping the Church honorable, which sets up future events and conflicts in the story.
The Elm-tree on the Mall
By Anatole France
Amidst religious traditions and power struggles, a priest wrestles with maintaining the Church's integrity against modern challenges and personal ambitions.
Summary
About the AuthorAnatole France was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie Française, and won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of his brilliant literary achievements, characterized as they are by a nobility of style, a profound human sympathy, grace, and a true Gallic temperament".
Anatole France was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie Française, and won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of his brilliant literary achievements, characterized as they are by a nobility of style, a profound human sympathy, grace, and a true Gallic temperament".
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