Sultane française au Maroc : $b précédé d'une lettre à M. S. Pichon
"Sultane française au Maroc" by Noël Amaudru is a historical narrative written in the early 20th century. It traces the extraordinary rise of a Jura-born peasant, Jeanne Lanternier, from rural France to the Moroccan court, blending reportage, archival sleuthing, and political commentary on Franco-Moroccan relations. The focus is a “lived” romance of captivity, conversion of fate, and court intrigue set against French diplomacy and the Maghreb’s shifting power structures. The opening of the work begins with a dedicatory letter and a reprinted journal piece in which Stephen Pichon outlines a patient, non-military French policy for Morocco, endorses the Anglo-French understanding, downplays the roghi’s strength, and stresses administrative reforms over conquest. The narrative then shifts to the Val d’Amour in Franche-Comté, establishing landscape, folklore, and a documented birth record for Jeanne-Pierre Lanternier, supported by local testimony and regional histories. We follow her poor family’s move to colonial Algeria, Jeanne’s diligence and beauty, and the 1836 abduction by marauders tied to Abd el-Kader; her father is brutalized, separated, and ultimately dies in captivity. Jeanne and her mother are sent with wild animals and riches as tribute to Sultan Abd-er-Rhaman, escorted across Oujda, the Rif, and Taza; along the way a fortune-telling scene foreshadows her elevation. At Fez, the Sultan selects her for the harem and permits her mother to remain with her; soon she is sent on to Marrakech under heavy escort, where the opening section leaves her on the threshold of imperial life.