''Poil de carotte'' (En: ''Carrot Head'' or ''Carrot Top'') is a long short story or autobiographical novel by

Jules Renard Pierre-Jules Renard (; 22 February 1864 – 22 May 1910) was a French author and member of the Académie Goncourt, most famous for the works '' Poil de carotte'' (Carrot Top, 1894) and ''Les Histoires Naturelles'' (Nature Stories, 1896). Among ...

published in 1894 which recounts the childhood and the trials of a redheaded child. It is probably in this miserable childhood story where one should look for the origins of Renard's skepticism and irony, his skill in using

litotes In rhetoric, litotes (, or ), also known classically as ''antenantiosis'' or ''moderatour'', is a figures of speech, figure of speech and form of verbal irony in which understatement is used to emphasize a point by stating a negative to further a ...

, his dense and precise styles.

Summary

The story of "Poil de carotte" is that of an unloved, redheaded child, the victim of an evil family. François Lepic, nicknamed Poil de carotte, grows up with a mother who never likes him and a father who is indifferent to him. The reader follows the journey of this young boy and the relationships with his parents, with the world around him and with nature. Poil de carotte uses cunning to battle the daily humiliations he experiences and to stand up to the adult world. So, tragedy notwithstanding, the reader enjoys delightful, amusing, comical, and moving adventures.

Adaptations

*The author adapted the story for the stage in 1900 with

André Antoine André Antoine (31 January 185823 October 1943) was a French actor, theatre manager, film director, author, and critic who is considered the father of modern mise en scène in France. Biography André Antoine was a clerk at the Paris Gas Utilit ...

. *In 1903,

Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Notably, he produced ''Peter Pan'', both in London and the US, the latter production ...

produced an English-language version titled ''Carrots'' with

Ethel Barrymore Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...

playing François. * Julien Duvivier adapted it for movies twice: in 1925 as a

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

and again in 1932 with sound. *

Paul Mesnier Paul Mesnier (3 August 1904 in Saint-Étienne – 7 July 1988) was a French film director. He was married to the actress Andrée Servilanges. Filmography ;Director * 1937 : ''Le Chemin de lumière'' * 1938 : ''La Belle revanche'' * 1941 ...

adapted it for movies in 1952. *

Henri Graziani Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the ' List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Mon ...

adapted it for movies in 1973, starring

Philippe Noiret Philippe Noiret (; 1 October 1930 – 23 November 2006) was a French film actor. Life and career Noiret was born in Lille, France, the son of Lucy (Heirman) and Pierre Noiret, a clothing company representative. He was an indifferent student and ...

and

Monique Chaumette Monique Chaumette (born 4 April 1927) is a French actress. She appeared in more than forty films since 1958. She was married to Philippe Noiret Philippe Noiret (; 1 October 1930 – 23 November 2006) was a French film actor. Life and career No ...

. *

Richard Bohringer Richard Bohringer (born 16 January 1942) is a French actor. Personal life Bohringer was born in Moulins, Allier, to a French mother and a German father. He is the father of actress Romane Bohringer, and has three other children, Mathieu, Richa ...

adapted it for television in 2003. *An animated cartoon was made in 1997 and broadcast on France 5. *A play in Walloon titled ''Tiesse di keuve'' (copper head) was written by Émile-Henri Genon, and video-recorded in 1999 by ''Médiathèque de la Province de Liège''. *Cheese featuring Poil de Carotte on the packaging was introduced in French supermarkets around 1974 and animated adverts were released in the early 1980s to advertise the cheese, produced under license from Homsy Delafosse & Associates.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poil De Carotte 1894 French novels French autobiographical novels French novels adapted into films