An Old Maid

In provincial Alençon, where rank is half memory and half performance, the impoverished Chevalier de Valois survives by turning elegance into capital. Nearly sixty, he remains slim, immaculate, witty, and socially indispensable, a moneyless aristocrat whose spotless linen, worn coat, polished hands, and carefully managed manners disguise decline while proclaiming old-regime grace. His reputation is both admired and doubted: some see a true nobleman, others a clever deceiver, but his shrewd arrangements, old connections, and strategic generosity eventually win him money, a pension, and the cross of Saint-Louis. Even so, he keeps his restrained style, using heraldic symbols and refined discretion to pursue a greater prize: marriage to the wealthy Mademoiselle Cormon. Around him, salons, card tables, boarding-house corridors, and estate visits become arenas of gossip, desire, and social maneuvering, especially when the spirited grisette Suzanne brings new intrigue and exposes the restless ambitions beneath provincial decorum. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.