How Teachers Might Use This Book

How teachers might use A Critical Edition of “The Comical History of Francion” (1655) in their classes. In High School Intermediate (Fr. II or III) students could read selected passages in the French text used (Garavini, Fausta. Histoire comique de Francion. Edition de 1633. Paris: Gallimard, livre de poche, 1996) and compare them to the English in the above critical edition. Using a Venn Diagram, students could list the similarities and differences between the two versions. In Advanced French, AP or college courses students could read a selected chapter in the French and then summarize the contents in French. They could then read the same chapter in English and ascertain the differences in idioms, style, content and meaning. Another suggestion, they could map the many characters, settings,themes, plots, etc.
Further ideas: how does the English edition "spin away" from the French original?

Teacher Research:
Research tools: OED (over 120 references to the English from the book). EEBO (Early English Books Online) many universities now have an electronic version of the book and a microfilm version which we used. The electronic version is just as illegible as the microfilm. Use of Special Collection Departments or Rare Book Rooms to see originals. According to World Cat 100 libraries have copies of the original book.
Use of Transcripts of the Registers of the Company of Stationers to ascertain
writers of documents. Emailing to such entities as The Essex Records Office (info. on the author), Guildhall Library (copies of wills and testaments) and London Metro Archives (historical data). Dictionaries of the 17th century: Cotgrave, Randle. Dictionarie of the French and English tongues. The Littré French Dictionary. Dictionaire de l’Académie française. French literary reviews such as Oeuvres et critiques, French Studies, The French Review, etc. Bibliographies, Works Cited, Catalogues, Dictionary of National Biography,authors who have written on Charles Sorel (Dandry, Patrick; Verdier, Gabrielle;Béchade, Hervé; Debaisieux, Martine; Suozzo, Andrew; Howells, Robin. Authors who have written about the period: Salzman, Paul; Pooley, Roger; Upham, Horatio; Adam, Antoine; Roy, Emile, etc.
Problems with translations: France, Peter: The Oxford Guide to Literature in English
Translation.

What made me write this Critical Edition? My love for the French author, Charles Sorel, and the fact that so little is known about him in English.

Research is never over. Input from teachers/scholars using the text would be appreciated.
Comments at www.comicalhistoryoffrancion.blogspot.com.

Resume of book

In 2005 I published A Critical Edition of “The Comical History of Francion” (1655) which I compared to l’Histoire comique de Francion (1633) by Charles Sorel. One of my aims was to make the original (a rare book, mostly found on microfilm) available to the public. To help the reader with the older English I modernized the font and included a glossary and index at the end. I also made a line by line comparison with the French text of Sorel. Fortunately, I was able to find out who the anonymous author (a "Gentleman of Honor") was and some reasons why he may have written it. The book is divided into 12 other “Books.” Some of the superficial highlights: Book 1-Francion’s adventures with Valentin, Lauretta and Olivier (“Catherine”); Book 2-Francion’s famous “dream” and Agatha’s bio of Lauretta; Book 3-Francion’s early childhood, his stint at school with the infamous Hortensius; Book 4-School days, outmoded studies and Francion’s “education sentimentale”; Book 5-The great Don Juan, Francion, courts Diana and Lucy among others, his residence with Clerantes; Book 6-A local wedding in the village and Bajamond’s story; Book 7-Among many other adventures, Francion’s search for the elusive Nais; Book 8-Collinet, the fool and Francion’s song; Book 9-Francion’s peripaties with Du Buissson, Nais, Ergaste and Valerius; Book 10-Francion, the peasant, his trip to Rome to seek Nais; Book 11-Hortensius is back; Book 12-The many obstacles to to Francion’s marriage to Nais, his public trial and eventual marriage to Nais. The work is interesting as an early form of the novel in picaresque form. Scholars have pondered over the many levels of meanings in this book (mostly in the French) for many years. Volumes, studies, etc. have been written about it ( See Works Cited). It would be most useful in a French, Comparative or English Literature class.