Clovis Dardentor

Partly a travel narrative, Clovis Dardentor is an 1896 fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne. Compared to other Verne novels, it is a relatively unknown work. Very common throughout Clovis Dardentor is Verne's usage of a comedic, slightly burlesque tone in the narration and in the characters' dialogues (something which the narrator confirms at a certain point of the novel). The original illustrations were drawn by designer Léon Benett.

Plot summary

The novel tells the story of two cousins, Jean Taconnat and Marcel Lornans, travelling from Cette, France to Oran, Algeria, with the purpose of enlisting in the 5th regiment of the Chausseurs D'Afrique. Onboard the Argelès, the ship to Oran, they meet Clovis Dardentor, a wealthy industrialist, who is the central character of the novel. Jean and Marcel, whose desire to travel to Africa arises from their pursuit of financial independence, find out that Clovis —an unmarried man, with no family— has left no heirs to his fortune. Yet Marcel, well-versed in the Law, knows that any person who were to save Clovis' life either from a fight, from drowning, or from a fire, would forcibly have to be adopted by Clovis. The cousins come to a plan: They will find a way to save Clovis' life, so that he will indeed be legally required to adopt them. Ironically, it is Clovis who finally saves the cousins' lives: Marcel is saved from a fire, and Jean is saved from drowning. Eventually, while Jean continues to look for the opportunity to save Clovis' life, Marcel falls in love with Louise Elissane, the prospective daughter-in-law of one of Clovis' acquaintainces, the unpleasant Desirandelle family. Louise becomes a key character in the novel, for it is she who saves Clovis Dardentor's life. Fortunately for the cousins, in the end, Louise is adopted by Clovis, and marries Marcel.