Le Rosier de Madame Husson

Le Rosier de Madame Husson is a novella by Guy de Maupassant, published in 1887.

The hero is a young virtuous boy, the equivalent of a Rose Queen.

The story was adapted by the English composer Benjamin Britten for his comic opera Albert Herring with a libretto by Eric Crozier who transposed it entirely to an English setting.

Madame Husson, the model of virtue in Gisors, is promoting chastity in her town by seeking to crown a rosière (i.e. Rose Queen, a girl of unimpeachable virtue).

However, no girl can stand up to the investigations that take place, and Madame Husson crowns the village idiot, Isidore, as the 'rosier' (Rose King).