the Evil genius is a novel of the Comtesse of Ségur published in 1867. It is a work moralisatrice and humorous at the same time, with a certain bias for the army and the military career.

The novel

The title makes reference to Alcide Bourel, wire of café owner, fundamentally bad, who exerts a bad influence on Frederic Bonard. This last yields easily, but it has a good bottom: it is always full with remorse after its misdeeds.

Humor is brought by the character of Georgey, catholic English, of Irish origin: it is eccentric, generous, often naive, but sometimes also of a great perspicacity to realize that Frederic, contrary to Alcide, has a good bottom. Its conversation is colourful because it truffle its sentences of English words (typical example: turkey, to indicate the Turkey S). The advance of its thought seems sometimes curious with its interlocutors. He points out other similar characters of the countess of ségur: the general Dourakine of the novel éponyme, mademoisell Primerose in After the rain, the good weather. He points out also a very different character: the severe Mr Féréor in the Fortune of Gaspard. Just like, it is to him an industrialist undertaking.

There are other characters:

• Julien, it was adopted by the parents of Frederic; he has only qualities, he is worker and grateful for his adoptive parents. He profits from generosity bottomless of Georgey.
• the father of Frederic can have terrible angers against Frederic following his flights, but it will be also very proud of his son for his military career.
• the mother of Julien has it also shame of his/her son, but it tries to moderate the anger of the father.

Summary

Flight of turkeys

Julien is charged to keep turkeys (at the time, it was an activity full-time). Several times, of the turkeys diparaissent. His/her adoptive parents make him objection of it, with the great shame of Julien. In fact, it proves that the robber is Frederic, influenced by malicious Alcide. These 2 small drainage canals sold them very expensive in Georgey, eccentric English and with the appetite of ogre.

At the beginning, Georgey believes that Julien is a robber, then it realizes its mistake. There is a picturesque episode where the maidservant of Georgey is struck by Julien who is only one kid of less than ten years: he believes that she wants to steal her turkeys. During this time, Georgey is camouflaged in the bushes and admires the courage of Julien. Its maidservant is it also full with qualities and does not have any resentment for its Master whom it adores, nor for Julien of which it sees that he is full with qualities.

Flight in the cupboard of Bonard

Alcide again exerts a bad influence on Frederic and pushes it to fracture a cupboard in the parents of Frederic, to steal the money which is inside. They énivrent Georgey and Julien, then they steal porte-monnaie of Georgey. The Bonard husbands carry felt sorry for lorqu' they note the flight, not suspecting that their own son is the culprit.

Alcide and Frederic are made in their turn fly by other bad lots. Mr Georgey recognizes that it would not have owed énivrer and should not have let Julien drink with them. The husbands Bonard and Georgey discover that Frederic is one of the robbers. Mr Bonard is ploughed up: he will pass for the father of a robber and will be dishonoured.

To mislead the gendarmes, Georgey succeeds in finding a cock-and-bull story, where he explains why it is him which fractured this cupboard. The gendarmes are amused by the eccentricity of this English rich person and believe it on word.

Redemption of Frederic by his engagement in the army

Frederic engages in the army for expier his faults. He is private, in Algeria (see Conquête of Algeria), but very estimated of all, the colonel, the sergeants and his comrades of troop.

The countess of Ségur called colonel Bertrand Duguesclin, undoubtedly in reference to Bertrand Of Guesclin (1320-1380), a frightening soldier of the Guerre One hundred Year old (undoubtedly, largest of the Connétable S of the French history). Again, Frederic crosses Alcide, which is him also engaged, to escape the consequences from his acts: following a coincidence, Frederic, drunk, wants to protect Alcide against a sergeant, who does only his work.

To rebel against a sergeant concerns the capital punishment at the time. Frederic and Alcide are judged. After a certain suspense, the first is not condemned because everyone is conscious of its qualities, including the sergeant to which it dealt. Frederic is full with recognition for those which grâcié it and this sergeant.

Frederic takes part in a battle against Arabic, fights brilliantly and saves the life of colonel Bertrand Duguesclin and the famous sergeant. Alcide is carried out , he refuses the catholic Aumônier and dies by insulting his chiefs and Frederic.

Frederic becomes sergeant. Following a disease, it falls seriously sick, Georgey discovers it by chance on a bed of hospital: it brings back it to France. Mr Bonard shows his son in uniform proudly, with his gallons and his decorations, at all the city.

Georgey by its relations obtains the release of the military service for Frederic.

The countess of Ségur with the glance of a reader of the XXIe century

In this novel and Diloy the chemineau, the countess of Ségur shows Arabic who fights, It does not realize that they nothing but do fight to defend their own good vis-a-vis the French invader.

On the other hand, the countess of Ségur was conscious that the diseases caused very many deaths in the army, it quotes the Choléra and the Typhus .

Illustrations of the time by Emile Bayard

In the old editions, this novel was illustrated by the drawings of Emile Bayard. There exists in particular a drawing very speaking, where one sees the eccentric and generous Georgey to show itself to have fractured the cupboard of the Bonard husbands.

External references

• the text of the novel

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