''The Abyssinian'' (french: L'Abyssin) is a 1997 historical adventure novel by
Jean-Christophe Rufin
Jean-Christophe Rufin (born 28 June 1952) is a French doctor, diplomat, historian, globetrotter and novelist. He is the president of Action Against Hunger, one of the earliest members of Médecins Sans Frontières, and a member of the Académi ...
.
Plot introduction
''The Abyssinian'' tells the story of a young French physician who is sent as part of a diplomatic mission to
Abyssinia
The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historica ...
in the early eighteenth century. Along the way he must face various perils while trying to win over his true love.
Characters in "The Abyssinian"
* Jean-Baptiste Poncet: a French apothecarian who has been practicing medicine without a formal license.
* Maître Juremi: a colleague of Jean-Baptiste who has fled France because of his
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
religious beliefs
* Monsieur de Maillet: the French consul in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
* Monsieur de Macé: an expert linguist who works for Monsieur de Maillet
External links
Amazon.com: Reviews
1997 French novels
French adventure novels
French historical novels
Novels set in Ethiopia
W. W. Norton & Company books
1997 debut novels
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