# Le Petit Chose

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thumb|right|{{center|"A Toast!"<br>''From the 1898 Jane Segwick translation''}}
'''''Le Petit Chose''''' (1868), translated into English as ''Little Good-For-Nothing'' (1878, Mary Neal Sherwood) and ''Little What's-His-Name'' (1898, Jane Minot Sedgwick), is an autobiographical [memoir](/source/memoir) by French author [Alphonse Daudet](/source/Alphonse_Daudet).
 
==Contents==
Taking its title from the author's nickname, it recounts Daudet's early years from childhood, through boarding school and finally to [Paris](/source/Paris) and his first successes as an author. It was Daudet's first published work, though not first written. It is semi-autobiographical.<ref name="Roche">{{cite book |title=Alphonse Daudet |publisher=Twayne Publishers |location=Boston |last=Roche |first=Alphonse Victor |year=1976 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/alphonsedaudet0000roch/page/14/mode/2up?q=%22Le+Petit+Chose%22 15], [https://archive.org/details/alphonsedaudet0000roch/page/38/mode/2up?q=%22Le+Petit+Chose%22 38-40] }}</ref>

==Influence==
Canadian author [Yann Martel](/source/Yann_Martel) (''[Life of Pi](/source/Life_of_Pi)''), in talking about his most memorable childhood book, recalled ''Le Petit Chose'', saying that he read it when he was ten years old, and that it was the first time he found a book so heartbreaking that it moved him to tears.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abebooks.co.uk/docs/authors-corner/yann-martel.shtml |title=Exclusive Interview with Yann Martel |work=[AbeBooks](/source/AbeBooks) |first=Yann |last=Martel |author-link=Yann Martel |date=2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060113110606/http://www.abebooks.co.uk/docs/authors-corner/yann-martel.shtml |archive-date=2006-01-13 |quote=I remember the first time I cried reading a book. It was a novel by Alphonse Daudet, an autobiography called Le Petit Chose or "The Little Thing" which was a nickname the author received as a child. It was a heartbreaking story and I remember hiding in the bathroom to sob. It took me by surprise that I could be moved so much by a book. I was ten years old.}}</ref>

==Film==
In 1938, the book was made into the movie ''Le Petit Chose'' by French director [Maurice Cloche](/source/Maurice_Cloche). It starred [Arletty](/source/Arletty), [Marianne Oswald](/source/Marianne_Oswald), and [Marcelle Barry](/source/Marcelle_Barry) in the leading roles and featured then 14-year-old classical guitarist [Ida Presti](/source/Ida_Presti) in a supporting role as a guitar player.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Analyse et Critique des Films: Le Petit Chose |journal=La Cinématographie Française |language=French |date=10 June 1938 |volume= |number=1023 |page=[https://archive.org/details/lacinmatographie1022pari/page/n75/mode/2up?q=%22Le+Petit+Chose%22 24] |quote=The film is further discussed throughout the magazines in June, July and August.}}</ref>

==Notes==
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==External links==
*[https://archive.org/search.php?query=%28%22petit%20chose%22%20OR%20%22Little%20What%27s-His-Name%22%20OR%20%22Little%20Good-For-Nothing%22%29%20AND%20mediatype%3Atexts ''Le Petit Chose''] at [Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive) (collection includes English translations).
*[https://archive.org/stream/parisyears0daudrich#page/66/mode/2up Chapter IV: "History of my Books, Little What's-His-Name"], from ''Thirty Years in Paris'', by Alphonse Daudet. 
* {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.litteratureaudio.com/livre-audio-gratuit-mp3/daudet-alphonse-le-petit-chose.html/ Le Petit Chose, audio version] 20px

{{Alphonse Daudet}}

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Category:1868 non-fiction books
Category:Autobiographies adapted into films
Category:Works by Alphonse Daudet

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Le Petit Chose](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Petit_Chose) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Petit_Chose?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.