''Blue Boy'' () is a 1932 novel by French writer Jean Giono. It tells the story of a family in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

, with an ironer mother and a shoemaker father. The book is largely autobiographical and based on Giono's childhood, although it has many fictional anecdotes. An English translation by Katherine A. Clarke was published in 1946.

Adaptations

The novel was the basis for

Marcel Pagnol Marcel Paul Pagnol (; 28 February 1895 – 18 April 1974) was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Regarded as an auteur, in 1946, he became the first filmmaker elected to the Académie française. Although his work is less fashionable ...

's 1938 film ''

The Baker's Wife ''The Baker's Wife'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and the book by Joseph Stein, based on the 1938 French film of the same name by Marcel Pagnol and Jean Giono. The musical premiered in the West End in 1989 for a short ...

''. The film stars Raimu,

Ginette Leclerc Ginette Leclerc (born Geneviève Lucie Menut; February 9, 1912 – January 2, 1992) was a French film actress. She appeared in nearly 90 films between 1932 and 1978. Her last TV appearance was in 1981. She was born in Ile-de-France, France ...

and

Charles Blavette Charles Blavette (24 June 1902 – 21 November 1967) was a French film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1933 and 1966. Selected filmography * '' Jofroi'' (1934) - Antoine * ''Angèle'' (1934) - Tonin * ''Toni'' (1935) - Antonio Canov ...

. Pagnol's film was in turn adapted into the American musical ''

'', which premiered in 1976. It was also the basis for the 2010 television film ''La Femme du boulanger'', directed by Dominique Thiel.

References

{{Jean Giono 1932 French novels French autobiographical novels French novels adapted into films French-language novels Novels set in Provence Novels by Jean Giono Éditions Grasset books