Scaramouche

Once he was André-Louis Moreau, a lawyer raised by nobility, unconcerned with the growing discontent among France's lower class--until his friend was struck down by a member of the aristocracy. Now he is a rabble-rouser and revolutionary, running from the law but sworn to avenge the death of his friend. Taking refuge with a band of actors, he assumes the role of Scaramouche--a comic figure with a serious message--and hones his skill with the sword. Finally he returns to Paris, where the story builds to a conclusion as surprising as it is reasonable. Set during the French Revolution, this novel of swashbuckling romance is also a thought-provoking commentary on class, inequality, and the individual's role in society--a story that has become Rafael Sabatini's enduring legacy. Never will the reader forget the sardonic Scaramouche, who was "born with the gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad."