{"product_id":"2026770000912-secondhand-at-gods-pleasure","title":"At God's Pleasure","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good                          \u003cbr\u003eJacket: No dust jacket\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good                  \u003cbr\u003eMarkings: Previous owner\u003cbr\u003eCondition remarks: Condition as shown in image\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this sweeping and magisterial epic of European aristocratic life, renowned French Academician Jean d’Ormesson charts the slow, poignant decline of a grand dynasty anchored to its ancestral estate through centuries of tumultuous social change. Spanning the twilight of the nineteenth century through the devastating upheavals of the two World Wars, the narrative is filtered through the eyes of a young narrator observing his formidable grandfather, the patriarch of the Plessis-lez-Vaudreuil family. As modern political movements, industrialization, and personal scandals chip away at their ancient traditions, the family clings to an elegant, code-bound existence that is inexorably slipping into history.\n\nAt God's Pleasure (Au plaisir de Dieu) stands as a towering achievement in 20th-century French literature, brilliantly capturing the friction between historical permanence and the merciless march of modernity. D'Ormesson's prose—gracefully rendered into English by acclaimed translator Barbara Bray—is infused with an exquisite balance of nostalgic melancholia, sharp sociological irony, and philosophical wit. Published in Melbourne by Hill of Content, this uncommon 1984 Australian edition offers world literature collectors a sophisticated and evocative exploration of heritage, nobility, and the fluid nature of time.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48826082754779,"sku":"2026770000912-SECONDHAND","price":12.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/53eb296b-6836-4184-836e-d48249ec2978.png?v=1780312284","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026770000912-secondhand-at-gods-pleasure","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}