The narrator, a young child, provides a detailed account of the lives and occasionally complex relationships of members of a family gathered around his great-aunt Félicie on a vast estate in southern Touraine during the post-Franco-Prussian War period of 1870.

Félicie instills in young Riquet a deep appreciation for the land that sustains them and equips him with the knowledge and skills to manage the estate, with the hope of ensuring its continued prosperity after his adulthood.

The setting provides the author with an opportunity to explore character studies, with Aunt Félicie as the central figure, who lives solely by and for her land.

The choice of a five-year-old child as the narrator, who describes without interpreting, provides greater depth to this study and encourages the reader to take on a more active role.

[1][N 1] In southern Touraine, towards the conclusion of the 1870 war—the novel is set between January 1871 and June 1876[T 1]—after the death of his mother, Henri Nadaud, nicknamed Riquet, relocates to the expansive Courance farmstead.

In this environment, the young child observes and recounts the activities of his family, which is dominated by the strong personality of his great-aunt Félicie, who owns the 400-hectare estate centered around the main farm.

However, this "inheritance aunt" is afflicted with a terminal illness, which causes concern among the numerous dependents she supports, who have become reliant on her financial assistance and have been shaped by her guidance.

"[3] Moreover, Riquet's father contemplates remarrying a Creole woman, a Catholic but a friend of Protestant Americans,[B 1] which serves only to exacerbate the tensions within the family.

Instead, he employs a technique similar to that used by Prosper Mérimée, whereby he introduces hints about each character's appearance throughout the text, allowing the reader to gradually construct an understanding of their physical characteristics.

[B 6] Philibert Fantin, the son of Casimir and an idealistic artist with a heart of gold, exemplifies a profound sense of familial obligation by expressing a desire to marry his child's mother.

[9] Nicknamed "Sugar Candy", a sobriquet identical to that of M. Bréchard, his model,[10] he acquired this epithet due to his ability to tolerate Félicie's demeanor with equanimity in all situations.

Another minor but notable change for readers was the correction and neutralization of the heavy dialectal speech of some characters in Les Bonnets de dentelle, which made the text more accessible to a broader audience.

While Mademoiselle Cloque also inaugurates a "new style" that the author maintained, and which appears to bridge the gap between Gustave Flaubert and Marcel Proust, it is possible to observe,[14] through Les Bonnets de dentelle and La Becquée, the evolution of Boylesve's writing on the same subject.

[13] Similarly, characters such as the Marquis d'Aubrebie in Mademoiselle Cloque or the Baron de Chemillé in La Leçon d'amour dans un parc [fr] can be regarded as representatives of the author.

Consequently, the author personifies two distinct figures: the child who narrates, and describes, yet refrains from judgment, and the mature man whose opinions are anticipated and respected by other characters, despite their reservations.

He lost his mother at an early age and was subsequently raised by his great-aunt, Clémence Janneau, who is thought to have inspired the character of Félicie Planté.

[L 5] In the novel, the character names frequently allows reflecting Boyle's deliberate decision to express specific aspects of their personality or role.

In contrast, the grandfather Casimir's family name, "Fantin", is an apt reflection of this individual, who is advanced in age yet maintains a youthful demeanor.

[18][N 3] The locales described by Boylesve, frequently presented under fictitious nomenclature, are predominantly authentic and align with the geographical areas where he spent his formative years.

In the vicinity of the aforementioned locations, such as "L'Épinay", "La Chaume", "Les Sapins", and "Le Moulin de Gruteau" situated along the Esves River, the actual names are retained.

The novel's tone is established from its outset, when Félicie observes that, amidst the turbulence of the 1870 war, the land remains the most secure investment, noting that "they [the Prussians] won't be able to take it with them."

[17] These two concerns of Félicie evoke the historical context of the 19th century, in which the estate frequently served as the site for the formation and evolution of a bourgeois family.

[B 9] In the novel's conclusion, Boylesve posits that with the demise of Aunt Félicie, a definitive turning point has been reached[L 8] and that despite her precautions, Courance's future will diverge from the past.

[B 6] Félicie, her autonomy compromised by illness and discomfort, resumes her daily card games with Casimir following a prolonged estrangement and ultimately accepts her nephew Philibert's wife at Courance.

[B 10] André Bourgeois interprets the scene in which farmer Pidoux defies Félicie as indicative of a "slow but powerful advance of the people", reflecting a profound social transformation reminiscent of the Paris Commune.

[B 2] The topic of education is frequently addressed by Boyle in his works, from his inaugural novel, Le Médecin des dames de Néans [fr], onwards.

The focus here is not on the traditional academic education, although the great-aunt does teach Riquet to read from a decorative screen in the dining room and expresses concern during a trip she takes about whether the youngster is fulfilling the assignments given to him by Mr. Laballue each Wednesday.

Furthermore, marriage institution is perceived as exclusive to couples of similar social class, religious affiliation, and, when feasible, geographical origin (in contrast to Mr. Nadaud and "the Creole").

"[B 7] In L'Enfant à la balustrade, Boylesve revisits this theme concerning the Creole, noting that she was considered too attractive to be what is referred to in the provinces as a "proper woman.

[28] In a tribute to René Boylesve shortly after his death in Les Nouvelles littéraires, artistiques et scientifiques, Edmond Jaloux called it "a book so strong and so grand.