The ''Le Roi des montagnes'' ("The king of the mountains") is a

French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

novel published in 1857 by

Edmond About Edmond is a given name related to Edmund. Persons named Edmond include: * Edmond Canaple (1797–1876), French politician * Edmond Chehade (born 1993), Lebanese footballer * Edmond Conn (1914–1998), American farmer, businessman, and politician ...

. A film adaptation starring

Lucile Saint-Simon Lucile Saint-Simon (born 19 October 1932) is a French actress from the Paris suburb of Corbeil-Essonnes. She appeared in such feature films as ''Les Bonnes Femmes'' (1960), '' The Hands of Orlac'' (1962), ''La donnaccia'' (Italian, 1965). In 2011, ...

and Claude Rollet was released in 1962.

Summary

A young German botanist fresh out of the University is sent to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

by the Hamburg Botanical Garden to study flora. In search of rare plants, he met two English women, a mother and her daughter, on the road that leads to the

Parnitha Mount Parnitha ( ell, Πάρνηθα, , Katharevousa and grc, Πάρνης ''Parnis''/''Parnes''; sometimes Parnetha) is a densely forested mountain range north of Athens, the highest on the peninsula of Attica, with an elevation of 1,413 m, and ...

. All three are abducted by a band of brigands led by Hatzistavros, "the king of the mountains", known for his cruelty. Given the refusal of the old English lady to pay the ransom, the botanist, loving the daughter, try several times to escape. The narrator presents a vivid account of brigandry and corruption mid- 18th century Athens. The westerner's colonial glance is evident in the book.

References

1857 French novels 1857 in France Novels set in Greece {{1850s-novel-stub