Anatole France 
Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard 

Sylvestre Bonnard, an esteemed ageing scholar of history and philology, finds himself on a trans-European adventure to track down an important manuscript. Whilst on his travels he meets the granddaughter of his lost love, a young woman named Jeanne. Impassioned to rescue her from the abusive life she is stuck in, Bonnard is forced to commit a crime of love to protect Jeanne. France’s tender exploration of the relationship between male rescuers and damsels-in-distress is interesting, and acts as a precursor to some of the more explosive films to explore this theme such as Martin Scorcese’s ‘Taxi Driver’ and Lynne Ramsay’s ‘You Were Never Really Here’. A profound, moving, and award-winning tale, ‘The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard’ is a must-read for fans of France who wish to connect with the author’s origins or anyone who wishes to take their first foray into his compelling body of work.-