When well-to-do young Maxime is left orphaned and poverty-stricken, his natural reticence and pride lead to him going hungry - until a kindly family lawyer finds him a position as bailiff with the Laroque family in Brittany.
And here we have an ailing old man, his widowed D-I-L, her seemingly proud - but lovely- daughter Marguerite...nd a few hangers-on;...a wealthy playboy who's after Marguerite, a bitter young governess who's after Maxime...and a sweet old family friend who spends her final years pursuing a vain court-case over her family estate in Spain...and daydreaming over the cathedral she'll build when the money comes through...
As the introduction by translator Henry Harland says, there is something fairy-tale like about the whole story - the prince disguised as a woodcutter, the haughty princess, the good magician (M Laubepin) and the fairy godmother (Mlle de Porhoet). Hardships are overcome; empty pockets are filled with bags of gold...
Not a must-read but OK.. ( )