France, Anatole - The Queen Pedauque

Young Jacques, son of the popular local cook, assists his father by hand-turning the rotisserie.
Soft spoken, yet intelligent, he catches the eye of the roguish Friar Ange who offers to educate the lad in exchange for meals, and the occasional drop of wine.
All well and good, until the friar misbehaves most shamefully – one too many times.
Jacques then comes under the tutelage of Jérôme Coignard, doctor of divinity, master of arts.
From now on, the novel picks up tempo and rollicks along is an escalating series of picturesque adventures.
Escapades, philosophizing, drunken bouts, gambling, romance, sexual fumblings. Plus, once the mysterious cabalist, d’Asterac, arrives, expect fanciful pagan explanations for what one might previously view as the “normal” world.
Not exactly what I would call a page-turner, yet this was far more entertaining than anticipated, and I would not have minded reading a few hundred more pages.