1903; Grosset & Dunlap publishers, New York; illustrated by C.D. Williams; smaller hardbound with red boards and gilt lettering and decoration; "Fifteenth Impression August, 1903"; good condition; original owner's initials inside "Aug 1905".
 
description -
Monsieur Beaucaire is a short novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Booth Tarkington that was first published in 1900.  
 
Plot -
The setting is Bath during the eighteenth century. Before the action of the novel begins, Beau Nash, an historical figure who served as Master of Ceremonies of Bath, has ordered M. Beaucaire out of the public rooms because of his low status. A barber to a French noble, Beaucaire has since that incident established a reputation for honesty while gambling with English notables in private.
In the opening scene of the novel, he catches the Duke of Winterset cheating and threatens to expose the Duke, whose honesty is already the subject of gossip. Beaucaire insists Winterset take him to a ball and introduce him as the Duc de Chateaurien to Lady Mary Carlisle, “the Beauty of Bath.