Part of La Comédie Humaine
First published 2005
At thirty, Godefroid has failed at everything. He retreats to a monastery-like house near Notre-Dame, where Madame de La Chanterie oversees an unusual group of men. These residents, all marked by the French Revolution's chaos, spend their days performing secret acts of charity as the Brotherhood of Consolation. Godefroid wants to join their mission. The Brotherhood sends him undercover to a Parisian slum to rescue a noble family from financial ruin. There he discovers a sick Polish woman living in luxury, completely unaware that her father and son endure terrible poverty just beyond her bedroom door. As Godefroid works to solve this family's crisis, he must prove himself worthy of the Brotherhood's trust. His success or failure will determine whether he finds the spiritual redemption he desperately seeks.
Genres: drama, classic-literature, french-literature, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 19th-century
Vibes: contemplative, introspective, melancholic, morally-complex, redemptive
Tropes: found-family, redemption-arc, secret-society, undercover-mission
Setting: Paris, Notre-Dame, Parisian slum, France
Period: 19th century, Post-French Revolution
272 pages · Paperback · Modern Library
Content warnings: death