Summary of Jean de Florette and Manon of the Springs
“Jean de Florette” and “Manon of the Springs” are two novels that form a series, also published in English under the title “The Water of the Hills”. In “Jean de Florette”, Jean, a former office clerk, becomes a farmer in a remote village in Provence. However, he is deceived by his neighbouring farmers, César and Ugolin Soubeyran, who are jealous of the newcomer and secretly block the spring on Jean’s land. In “Manon of the Springs”, years after Jean’s death, his daughter Manon, now a poor shepherdess, seeks revenge on the neighbours and the other villagers.
Reasons to read Jean de Florette and Manon of the SpringsÂ
Marcel Pagnol was a renowned French playwright, filmmaker, and novelist. The novels “Jean de Florette” and “Manon of the Springs” are adaptations of Pagnol’s earlier films of 1952, “Manon des sources” and “Ugolin”. In 1986, Claude Berri adapted the novels again into two films, “Jean de Florette” and “Manon des sources”.
Setting: Provence (France)
Book set in France: Massif de l’Etoile near Marseille in Provence. The novels are set in the fictional village of La Bastide, close to the village of Aubagne, where Marcel Pagnol was born and raised.
Original title: Jean de Florette & Manon des sources (L’Eau des collines)
Year of publication: 1962
Nr of pages: 448
