La Fontaine’s Parrot

Content : A clever and original novel centered on the character of La Fontaine, seen through the eyes of a young parrot trainer he takes under his wing.

At forty, La Fontaine has not yet written the fables that will make him famous. On the Pont-Neuf, he meets Louis, a thirteen-year-old orphan who owns a trained parrot. La Fontaine grows fond of them and takes the boy into his service.

This is how Louis enters an extraordinary world — that of the nobility under Louis XIV. Everything is a whirlwind of parties, literary salons, and witty conversation. La Fontaine shines, and Louis meets the leading figures of his time: marquises, famous authors like Molière… until the day La Fontaine’s patron, Nicolas Fouquet, is arrested on the king’s orders.

Will La Fontaine fall into disgrace? And what will become of Louis and his parrot?