About the book: 1965 / Alphonse Daudet's novel "Jack" (1876) is dedicated to the formation of personality. The main character here is an illegitimate abandoned child, deprived of maternal love, who has lost the dream of happiness, health and, ultimately, life. The novel is interesting in its depiction of the bohemian environment, which Daudet satirically de-romanticizes. These are people eaten away by envy and greed, who see the purpose of art in the delight of the public, fees, and cushy places. It is precisely this “unrecognized talent,” the poet Argentin, who robs his stepson Jack, like the notorious Mr. Murdstone from Dickens’ “David Copperfield” and condemns him to hard physical labor. The writer depicts a metallurgical plant, an environment of artisans who treat Jack more cordially than the “selected circle.” The novel "Jack" was one of the first works about children in French literature.