When a wealthy French couple let it be known they intended to bequeath their fortune to their small village, the residents dreamt of a prosperous future.
Instead the 146 villagers of Fresnes-sur-Apance in eastern France have succumbed to infighting and insults over claims that the bequest, which some say amounts to more than €6 million, could be a poisoned chalice.
They’re all about how rural idylls are destroyed by jealousy over inheritances, aren’t they?
Glad to have your recommendations, Tim. Clochemerle? Any others spring to mind?
As far as I can remember, no novels by Stendhal, Balzac, Flaubert, Zola, Proust, Sartre, Camus or Mauriac fit that template. But my memory might be fading. Adultery and murder are probably the major themes. Fighting over inheritances is surely more a staple of the British novel
Jarndyce v. Jarndyce?
Exactement RLJ, plus Our Mutual Friend
How about The Warden and the effect of possible wealth on the 12 bedesmen of Hiram’s Hospital.
Injustice, various Paris uprisings, transportation and the galleys feature quite prominently.
On reflection, Balzac’s “le Cousin Pons” might come into play – it involves skullduggery between a bunch of people trying to get their hands on Pons’s art collection, while he is still alive.
I suspect that the Code Napoléon, with its forced heirship rules, does away with most of the potential for quarrelling over inheritances, which is why it is, to my mind, so rarely encountered in French noveld
Diogenes – also L’Interdiction to stick with the Comédie Humaine.
There was a thread in Allo Allo where the Resistance stole a load of fake Gestapo money …
Anyone got a non-paywalled version of The Times article?
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
@John Galt
Once again, 12ft ladder to the rescue (I gave the same advice on another site a day or so ago). Just copy the link into the textbox and press the button, which will take you to an unpaywalled page.
@Justin – I’ve got no idea why you imagine that works? It just cuts off at exactly the same place as the Paywall version.
😐
John Galt:
https://archive.ph/GVYUx
French people being stupid and mean.
There’s a story.
Many thanks @KyleT – That did the trick. I was imagining that the problem with the bequest was that it would have created tax issues for the villagers, but the reality is that the size of the bequest is a bit small given what they want done with it (French bureaucracy notwithstanding).
There’s also the aspect of “What happens afterwards”, when as much has been delivered as possible, the bequest is now empty and the running costs or maintenance costs are due. Who is supposed to pay those?
What about the cost of flowers for eternity?
TMB, Clochemerle is great fun, although I don’t remember inheritance being the major issue. Rather more like Blair’s attitude to immigration, something he did to annoy the people who were against him anyway.
RichardT – you’re right, it’s less about inheritance and more about dysfunctional village life in deepest provincial France. If you enjoyed Clochemerle you might also try Marcel Aymé’s La Jument Verte (The Green Mare).
€41,095.95 each, probably going mostly to already wealthy pensioners. Not like they need the cash probably.