First love, teenage angst, childhood friendships ... LE GRAND MEAULNES cast a spell over an entire generation of French readers with its realistic, touching portrayal of adolescence and the enduring power of love. It tells the magical, bitter-sweet story of the unforgettable Meaulnes and his search for his lost love, Yvonne. Adventurous, impulsive, heroic, even mad, Meaulnes embodies the recklessness of youth and also the pain which lies between childhood and adulthood. His beautiful heroineYvonne is based on the real-life love of the brilliant young author Alain-Fournier who was tragically killed in the First World War after writing this, his only novel.