Le Roi des montagnes
The Le Roi des montagnes ("The king of the mountains") is a French-language novel published in 1857 by Edmond About.[1] A film adaptation starring Lucile Saint-Simon and Claude Rollet was released in 1962.
Summary
A young German botanist fresh out of the University is sent to Greece by the Hamburg Botanical Garden to study flora. In search of rare plants, he met two English women, a mother and her daughter, on the road that leads to the Parnitha. All three are abducted by a band of brigands led by Hatzistavros , "the king of the mountains", known for his cruelty . Given the refusal of the old English lady to pay the ransom, the botanist, loving the daughter, try several times to escape. The narrator presents a vivid account of brigandry and corruption mid- 18th century Athens. The westerner's colonial glance is evident in the book.
References
- Angus James Wrenn (1 January 2009). Henry James and the Second Empire. MHRA. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-906540-07-4.