Why am I, just some random American with suspect literary and French language abilities, attempting to translate this grand old work of French adventure/crime fiction?
The answer is, I just really want to read it.
I have found a lot of happiness and satisfaction reading crime fiction along the lines of Arsène Lupin, and A.J. Raffles. I have even been writing stories along that line myself. You may have actually read some of them, and if Arsène and A.J. can be seen as Olivia’s parents, then Rocambole is her grandfather. Son grand-père criminel. Pépé voleur.
However, this progenitor of my favorite genre remains mysterious to me. I have found some copies of this first book in English, digital versions or print on demand from a particular website, but very little on the later books. I couldn’t even find any copies from the libraries I have access to here in Seattle.
So, if I wanted to engage with this character. If I wanted to uncover the lost city of Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail, I would have to hack through the dense jungle of old timey french myself.
Plus, beyond Olivia getting in touch with her ancestors, beyond the academic joy of discovery, beyond even an afore-un-mentioned desire to improve my French reading abilities, it could actually be a fun read.
The definition given by L’Académie Française for the word Rocambolesque:
Extravagant, rich in unexpected events, in extraordinary and unlikely plot twists. A Rocambolesque adventure. Her story is Rocambolesque.
That sounds like fun to me.
-D. Cartier
D. Cartier 