Sabatini Rafael. Scaramouche

A lawyer takes a chance on the stage in Rafael Sabatini’s 1921 novel Scaramouche. The French Revolution is raging and Andre-Louis Moreau finds himself in the middle of a tense situation between upper and lower classes. A tragic duel has left one of Moreau’s friends dead, and Moreau has urged his compatriots to exact revenge on his friend’s killer, an aristocratic Marquis. With the law in pursuit and always on the wealthy Marquis’s side, Moreau makes a snap decision to join a band of traveling actors. He discovers, to his surprise, that he has a talent for theater, one that brings his company much success. At one fateful performance, Moreau notices the villainous Marquis sitting in the audience. The spirited young man stirs up the crowd against his enemy and incites a fevered brawl. When the dust settles, Moreau knows he is a wanted man again and must go into hiding. As this fascinating tale of political, cultural, and personal strife unfolds, a shocking conclusion reveals an unexpected truth about why the lives of these two very different men seem fated to intertwine.