"The Count de Chantelean" by Jules Verne, summary Automatic translate

Jules Verne’s novel transports readers to the era of the French Revolution, detailing the historical events of the Vendée rebellion. The work was written in 1864. Georges Hetzel, the writer’s regular publisher, refused to publish the book in a separate edition for ideological reasons, fearing the author’s monarchist and pro-Catholic sympathies. Consequently, the novel was not published in book form until a century later.

The beginning of the rebellion and the defeat at Savenay

In February 1793, the revolutionary Convention announced an additional call-up of three hundred thousand recruits. Forced mobilization and brutal repression against the clergy became the last straw for the peasants of the western provinces. A large-scale armed rebellion broke out. The Breton nobleman Humbert de Chantelen abandoned his family castle, leaving his wife and young daughter Marie to join the royalists. Monarchist troops united peasants and aristocrats under a common command. The rebels occupied cities, built their own arsenal, and achieved a series of impressive victories over regular troops.

The uprising’s success proves short-lived. Republican forces under Kléber and Marceau begin a systematic and ruthless suppression of the resistance. The Vendéen army is forced to retreat to the Loire in complete disarray. After ten months of heroic struggle, on December 23rd, the fateful Battle of Savenay takes place. In the freezing rain, the Republicans surround the remnants of the rebel forces. The Count of Chantelin fights desperately, protecting the retreat of women and the elderly along the road to Guérande.

His faithful servant and foster brother, Kernan, miraculously finds the Count amid the chaos of the carnage. The Breton brings bad news: among the enemy soldiers, he encountered Carval. This man had previously served the Count but was exiled for grand theft. Now, Carval has become an officer in the Convention army. In the heat of battle, he shouted an ominous threat to Kernan, making it clear that he was heading to the Chantelean estate to deal with the aristocrat’s family.

The road to the ruined house

Realizing the impending danger, Humbert de Chantelean and Kernand immediately rush to Brittany. The fugitives bypass the locked gates of Guérande and reach the port town of Piriac. For gold coins, they buy a small boat from a local fisherman. Kernand takes control of the boat, demonstrating excellent seamanship. They navigate the dangerous stretches of the Breton coast through a violent night storm.

Having crossed the waterway, the travelers disembark and head straight across snow-covered fields to the family home. The surrounding area is ominous: the neighboring farm has been burned to the ground, and traces of a brutal battle are everywhere. Chantelean Castle itself remains intact, but an official poster announcing the confiscation of property in favor of the Republic hangs on the gates.

An old woman, crazed with fear, hides in a ruined moat. She reveals the terrible truth: the castle has been stormed by Carval’s troops. The Countess was killed right in the chapel, and young Marie, along with Chaplain Fermon, was chained and taken to the prisons of Quimper. The father, bereaved of his wife, rushes to save his only child.

Scaffold in Quimper

The fugitives reach Quimper, where an atmosphere of brutal state terror reigns. Commissioners of the Committee of Public Safety execute dozens of people daily, relieving the overcrowded prisons. The Count and Kernand emerge into the cathedral square as the list of those to be guillotined is read out. A herald calls out the names of Abbé Fermont and Mademoiselle Chantelaine. Hearing this, the Count collapses in the crowd.

Kernand carries the gentleman to a nearby tavern, festooned with revolutionary symbols. The innkeeper, a talkative sans-culotte, recounts the details of the morning’s execution. It turns out that an unheard-of incident occurred during the execution. A young man arrived at the square with an official pardon for his sister, signed by a prominent member of the Convention. Arriving late, he saw his relative’s head fall into a basket. However, the next victim was being lifted to the scaffold — the unconscious Marie de Chantelen. The young man rushed to the commissary and passed Marie off as his sister, thus snatching her from the clutches of death.

That night, the disconsolate Count goes to the cemetery to the mass grave of the executed. There, he meets a weeping youth — Henri de Trégolan. Having learned each other’s names, they unite. The Count leads the father to his rescued daughter, whom he has hidden in a safe house on the outskirts of Quimper.

Fishermen’s refuge in Douarnenez

Remaining in the city is mortally dangerous. The group secretly leaves Quimper and sets out on foot for the sea. Along the way, Marie nearly freezes to death from the piercing cold. The fugitives are forced to spend the night in the forest, hiding in the hollow of a huge oak tree. In the morning, they reach the fishing village of Douarnenez.

Here lives Locmaye, an old and devoted servant of the Trégolan family. He hides the exiles in his stone hut on Cape Les Gués. The fugitives pretend to be relatives of the old fisherman. A harsh life begins, full of deprivation and hard physical labor. The Count, Henri, and Kernand go out daily into the rough sea to fish. Marie sews rough sailor’s shirts, earning a few sous a day.

Their shared life brings the young people closer together. Henri de Trégolan falls deeply in love with Marie, who reciprocates his feelings with ardent and sincere affection.

Exile of Tristan Island

In winter, the peaceful life of the village is shattered by a violent riot. The locals hate Father Ivan, a Catholic priest who has sworn allegiance to the new republican government. In protest, the fishermen refuse to communicate with him and condemn him to certain death by forcibly landing him on the rocky island of Tristan. Ivan subsists on shellfish and slowly goes mad from hunger.

One night, an enraged mob of peasants sets out for the island in boats to finish off the exile. Kernand and Henri hurry after them, unwilling to allow a bloody lynching. Having caught up with the crowd, Kernand outpaces his pursuers. He grabs the struggling priest and plunges him into the icy waters of the bay. Having pulled the exile onto the mainland, the Breton orders him to leave Brittany forever. The peasants, believing the blasphemer to have drowned, peacefully return to their homes.

The Secret Priest and the Cave Wedding

In the spring, the Count de Chantelen suddenly disappears, leaving only a note. His loved ones are driven mad with worry, suspecting he has returned to the Vendée to face certain death. A few weeks later, Humbert returns and reveals an incredible secret. Seeing the spiritual decline of the region, deprived of pastors, he recalled his youth in the seminary in Rennes. The Count secretly sought out the hiding bishop, took holy orders, and at night confessed, baptized, and administered communion to the inhabitants of the surrounding villages.

He happily approves of Henri and Marie’s marriage. The wedding is scheduled for July 13th. To maintain the utmost secrecy, the ceremony is held in the Morgue’s gigantic sea caves, accessible only during high tide.

On the appointed day, dozens of fishing boats moor at the stone vaults. The red glow of torches reflects off the damp granite. The Count, dressed in priestly robes, begins the solemn mass, standing on a rocky islet right in the middle of the cave.

Cannon fire and captivity

Right in the middle of the wedding, deafening cannon shots ring out. The military brig "Sansculotte" blocks the narrow exit from the cave. Carval, having intercepted Henri’s casual note about the upcoming event, arrives with a company of punitive forces. Soldiers in boats burst into the grotto.

Kernand displays incredible reflexes and steers the boat carrying Marie and Henri into a narrow, deep crevice, hidden by a thick wall of darkness. Carval lands on the stone altar and personally arrests the Count. After searching the grotto but failing to find the girl, the commissioner orders Humbert de Chantellain taken aboard the ship. The brig immediately sails to Brest to stage the aristocrat’s exemplary execution.

At low tide, Kernand takes the boat out of hiding. Abandoning the boat, the friends make their way on foot across rugged terrain to a safe spot near Brest. The Breton swears a solemn oath to rescue his master from the executioners, even if it costs him his own life.

Rock of Justice

Kernand goes to Brest on reconnaissance. While stalking the winding streets of Recouvrance, he spots Carval. Waiting until darkness falls, the Breton silently overtakes the enemy. Holding a long knife to his chest, Kernand forces the commissar to pass silently through the city’s guards.

They emerge onto a deserted shore, where the sea waves crash against high cliffs. Mortally terrified, Carval offers any price for his life, but the Breton is adamant. By an incredible coincidence, the figure of Father Yven emerges from the darkness — the very priest rescued on the island of Tristan.

Kernan forces the trembling priest to listen to the Republican officer’s dying confession. As soon as Ivna absolves him, the loyal servant dispenses justice. He throws Karval from a great height into the raging waves of the bay, ridding the family of their greatest enemy forever.

The Thermidorian Revolution

The morning of the execution arrives. A horse-drawn red cart rolls out of the prison gates. Count de Chantelien calmly rides to his death. Kernand follows the procession closely, amidst an aggressive crowd of sans-culottes, clutching his weapon and preparing for a suicidal attack on the convoy.

With only a few hundred meters left to the scaffold, a sudden commotion erupts in the cathedral square. An urgent government message is being transmitted from Paris via the Chapa telegraph system. A coup d’état has taken place in the capital. The regime of radical terror has been overthrown, and Robespierre has been arrested. The ninth of Thermidor has arrived.

The jubilant crowd instantly changes its mood and stops the carriage. Kernan freely releases the Count from custody and leads him to safety.

The reunited family secretly boards a ship and travels to England. There, Marie and Henri are officially married. Years later, when the political situation in their homeland becomes secure, they return to France. Humbert de Chantelen permanently renounces the high privileges of aristocracy and accepts a modest parish, devoting the rest of his days to helping ordinary people.