The Old Man Dies
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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La Mort d'Auguste (1966) is a 'roman dur' by Georges Simenon. It is the story of the death of a patriarch and the three-day aftermath with his three sons. One son, Antoine, who had become a partner in the restaurant of his father is suspected by his two other brothers of having embezzled the father's fortune.
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Plot
Old Auguste, owner of the restaurant "Chez l'Auvergnat", collapses one evening among his customers, struck to death. He has three sons. Antoine, the second son, became partner in his bistro in the Halles which he transformed and which is enjoying ever increasing popularity.
when Ferdinand and Bernard, the other two sons are warned and when they arrive, they appear to be above all concerned with the inheritance. They suspect Antoine of having stolen father's money, because no trace of it can be found in the house. However, Antoine, who has lived with the old man for many years, was not aware of his affairs.
The atmosphere deteriorates when the women get involved and the tone rises with the third son, Bernard, an aggressive loser always in need of money. Ferdinand, a cautious magistrate, estimates the savings of Augustus at a million new francs. He is a frugal man who sees a future of financial comfort in front of him. As for Antoine, he is fair and eager to settle this thorny question as calmly as possible: his share of the profit is enough for him.
The fortuitous discovery of a numbered key, then of a bank address, will allow the three brothers to access a safe that their father had at the Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris. When they open the safe they find a heap of securities which are worthless. It is the collapse of hopes. Auguste had entrusted the management of his assets to a shady businessman who had died in prison two years earlier.
Ferdinand and Bernard share the little cash that is in the safe. The next morning, they follow their father's hearse indifferently, while Antoine, beside them, thinks of the vicissitude of things ...
Production
Simenon finished the novel in Epalinges on March 17, 1966.
Particular aspects of the novel
The visible presence of death serves as the backdrop to a family conflict engendered by greed.
Data sheet of the book
Space-time frame
Space
Paris, a typical restaurant in the Les Halles. References to Auvergne.
Time
The story takes place in 1961, over the course of three and a half days, from Friday evening to Tuesday morning (that is, the time between the death of Augustus and his burial).
The characters
Main character
Antoine Mature. Restaurateur. Married, no children. 49 years.
Other characters
- Auguste, father of Antoine, owner of the restaurant, Auvergnat based in Paris, 78 years old
- Ferdinand, eldest son of Augustus, examining magistrate, married, father of a daughter and a son, 53 years old
- Bernard, youngest son of Augustus, failed who lives in cohabitation with a certain Nicole.
Éditions
- Édition originale : Presses de la Cité, 1966
- Tout Simenon, tome 13, Omnibus, 2003 Template:ISBN
- Livre de Poche, n° 32694, 2012 Template:ISBN
- Romans durs, tome 12, Omnibus, 2013 Template:ISBN
Adaptations
- 1988 : La Mort d'Auguste, épisode 11 de la série télévisée française L'Heure Simenon, réalisé par Milo Dor.
- 2015 : La Mort d'Auguste, téléfilm sur France 3
Source
- Maurice Piron, Michel Lemoine, L'Univers de Simenon, guide des romans et nouvelles (1931-1972) de Georges Simenon, Presses de la Cité, 1983, p. 230-231 Template:ISBN
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