''Sophie's Misfortunes'' (french: Les Malheurs de Sophie) is a children's book written by the

Countess of Ségur Sophie Rostopchine, Countess of Ségur, born Sofiya Feodorovna Rostopchina (russian: Софья Фёдоровна Ростопчина; 1 August 1799 in Saint Petersburg – 8 February 1874 in Paris), was a French writer of Russian birth and or ...

. The book was published in 1858 by the publisher

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...

. The illustrations were by Horace Castelli, a French artist. This is the first book of a trilogy; its sequels are '' Good Little Girls'' (1858) and '' The Holidays'' (1859).

Plot

The story is set in a castle in the French countryside, during the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Empire, Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the French Second Republic, Second and the French Third Republic ...

. Sophie is a mischievous little girl who lives with her parents, Monsieur and Madame de Réan.

Legacy

The success of ''Sophie's Misfortunes'' has been constant through the years and still goes on today; the book has been republished many times. Overseas, as well, it has been very successful. Vladimir Nabokov alluded to it in his novel ''

Ada Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, Tur ...

'' (1969), making up a novel called ''Sophie's Sophisms'' 'Les Sophismes de Sophie''by a so-called "Miss Stopchin", as well ''Les Malheurs de Swann'', a title which combines

and

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...

. In the United Kingdom, the book was used as reference material to teach young girls French translation (boys would be trained using ''L'Histoire d'un conscrit de 1813'', written by Erckmann-Chatrian).

Main characters

* Sophie de Réan * Monsieur and Madame de Réan, Sophie's parents * Paul d'Auber, Sophie's cousin * Camille and Madeleine de Fleurville, Sophie's friends

Adaptations

Cinema and television

The book has inspired numerous film and television adaptations, including: * ''

Sophie's Misfortunes ''Sophie's Misfortunes'' (french: Les Malheurs de Sophie) is a children's book written by the Countess of Ségur. The book was published in 1858 by the publisher Hachette. The illustrations were by Horace Castelli, a French artist. This is the f ...

'' (1946), by Jacqueline Audry. * ''

'' (1979), by Jean-Claude Brialy. * ''

'' (2016), by Christophe Honoré.

Music

* In 1935, French composer Jean Françaix wrote a ballet called ''Les Malheurs de Sophie'' (32 minutes, published by Schott). * ''Les Bonheurs de Sophie'', piano sheet music by Chantal Auber, La Pléiade, Préparatoire 1. * "Les Malheurs de Sophie", sung by Chantal Goya, a song from the movie made by

Jean-Claude Brialy Jean-Claude Brialy (30 March 1933 – 30 May 2007) was a French actor and film director. Early life Brialy was born in Aumale (now Sour El-Ghozlane), French Algeria, where his father was stationed with the French Army. Brialy moved to mainland ...

. * ''Les Malheurs de Sophie'' (2011), a musical by Virginie Aguzzoli.

Animation

* ''Trouble With Sophie'' (1997) is the only animated adaptation of Sophie's Misfortune. Information about this series is limited and the voice cast is practically unknown since they were never credited. The series was developed by Alya Animation and aired on France 3. There are 27 episodes in total. It shows the titular character, Sophie’s life from when she was a child to adulthood and the hardships throughout her life. The series now has many different YouTube channels with all the episodes. There is the original French dub but the English dub also has its own channel. The tv series also tells the stories of the sequel books ‘Good Little Girls’ and ‘The Holidays’ in it. Making it a full story of Sophie's life. And an entire adaptation of the ‘Fleurville Trilogy’

Notes and references

* ''Les Nouveaux Malheurs de Sophie'', a novel by Valérie Dayre *
''Les Malheurs de Sophie'', audio version (in French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sophie's Misfortunes 1858 French novels 1850s children's books French novels adapted into films French children's novels French novels adapted into television shows Fictional French people in literature Novels adapted into ballets Children's books set in France Children's books set in castles Children's books set in the 19th century French historical novels