In the 1890s, an eleven-year-old French boy is abruptly sent from his home in the city to live with a great-aunt on her farm and vineyard. Jean Gilles (pronounced "jon jeel") is told by his mother only that that his father is unwell. Feeling lonely without his mother, Gilles finds comfort in the beauty of the countryside. He is enrolled in a local boys' boarding school. Sensitive and introspective, he struggles to make friends and adjust to the daunting culture of his new school. This is a recent English translation of a classic French novel first published in 1912 and reissued many times since.