ROUGE BRÉSIL by Jean-Christophe Rufin
Genre: Fictional history
Period: mid-16th century, under the reign of Henry II of France
Locations: Le Havre, France; Norman castle, France; Rio de Janeiro Bay, Brazil
Characters
JUST — 15 through 25 years old. The teenager becomes a man of dark beauty, intelligent and brave, but always a victim of dilemmas dealing with honor. The heir of a vanished condottiere, his inheritance robbed, he must at the same time find his way as an accomplished gentilhomme and try to understand his feelings for his sister Colombe.
COLOMBE — Two years younger, this sensuous blonde must mask her budding femininity to pass as Just’s brother, under the name of Colin. Of an independent character, open to the New World environment, she is an enthusiast of the Indians’ way of life and lives among them, gaining their respect.
VILLEGAGNON — Fiftyish, this Chevalier de Malte is out to conquer a continent where he wishes to establish a new French city (Nouvelle France). A jovial megalomaniac, he will become Just’s and Colin/Colombe’s putative father before they reject him. The prototype of a humanist condottiere who does not understand the emerging new world, he first tolerates Protestantism to then become its fiercest enemy.
AUDE — The 17 years old niece of Pasteur du Pont, sent by Calvin, is a young brunette of mysterious beauty, who wonderfully masters the art of manipulation. Just will become her dazzled prey, having failed to see her fanatical religious side.
MARTIN — An orphan (15 through 25 years old), who also came onboard as an interpreter, Just’s enemy from the very first day. A beat up face, slim but powerful body, he will play along with the traffickers and then with the Portuguese, to later become the master of the banks of Rio de Janeiro Bay as Le Freux’s successor.
LE FREUX — A French criminal, 40 years old, whose boat was grounded in the bay of Rio. He controls all trafficking. He tries to rob Villegagnon and even engages Martin to kill him.
PAY-LO — This old man (70, 80 or more) with a tattoo-covered body is a Frenchman who came to Brazil before the Portuguese, at the beginning of the century. He blended so completely into the Indian civilization that he became their wise man and a mediator among tribes.
