Other editions of book Beau Geste

Beau Geste is a rollicking adventure story of the French Foreign Legion. Set in the period before World War I it has captured the imagination of generation after generation. The Gestes brothers orphans from a well to do family. When suspicion of theft of a family heir loom falls upon the boys they separately decide to dun off and find seek their fortune with the French Foreign Legion. Adventure, danger, and destiny await them.

From the Back Cover: "Ten men against a war-crazed Arab horde...A shot rang out. The Arabs surged forward under a savage fusillade of heavy fire. Nearer and nearer they came, shouting with hate and blood-lust... Gestle rushed up and down his side of the roof, pausing only long enough to load his rifle and fire into the shrieking mob below - hoping to trick the Arabs into believing the first was heavily manned. Load, aim and fire, ignoring the cries and curses of the wounded...the dead sprawled out in their own blood...."

Beau Geste is a 1924 adventure novel by P. C. Wren. It has been adapted for the screen several times.Michael "Beau" Geste is the protagonist. The main narrator (among others), by contrast, is his younger brother John. The three Geste brothers of Brandon Abbas are used as a metaphor for the British upper class values of a time gone by, and "the decent thing to do" is, in fact, the leitmotif of the novel.The Geste brothers are orphans and have been brought up by their aunt. The rest of Beau's band are mainly Isobel and Claudia (only daughter of Lady Patricia, and in a way, also reason enough for Michael to join the French Foreign Legion), and Lady Patricia's relative Augustus.When a precious jewel known as the "Blue Water" goes missing, suspicion falls on the young people, and Beau leaves Britain to join the Foreign Legion (la Légion étrangère), followed by his brothers, Digby (his twin) and John. There, after some adventure and separation from Digby, the sadistic Sergeant Lejaune gets command of the little garrison at Fort Zinderneuf in French North Africa, and only an attack by Tuaregs prevents a mutiny and mass desertion (of course the Geste brothers and a few loyals are against the plot). Throughout the book and adventures, Beau's behaviour is true to France and the Legion, and he dies at his post. At Brandon Abbas, the last survivor of the three brothers, John, is welcomed by their aunt and his fiancée Isobel, and the reason for the jewel theft is revealed to have been a matter of honour, and to have been the only "decent thing" possible.

A shot rang out. The Arabs surged forward under a savage fusillade of heavy fire. As they advanced, Geste rushed up and down his side of the roof, shooting constantly to trick the Arabs into believing the fort was heavily manned. They couldn't be allowed to learn the grave truth--that of all those hard-bitten veterans who had yelled their defiance at the first Arab onslaught, who had shouted with joy at the order of 'Aux Armes, ' only ten remained--ten legionnaires against a thousand Arabs. Beau Geste is a world-famous novel of suspense and adventure, love and glory, courage and treachery. It is the thrilling story of three men who braved the hellish brutality and ruthless savagery of the French Foreign Legion to protect the honor of a woman they loved more than their lives.

A column of French Legionnaires finds one of their fortresses manned by dead men. It looks like the sergeant was killed by one of his own troops. Who could have done it? A flashback then unravels the mystery of the three English Geste brothers. The brothers, orphaned early in life, are raised by an aunt. Their raucous youths are filled with the literature of adventure and ritualized horseplay centered around these myths and legends. So when the family's prized Blue Water sapphire turns up missing, each of the young men confesses to being the thief in order to protect the others, and one by one they head off to join the French Foreign Legion. The three brothers meet up in the deserts of Africa, where they fall under the command of the malevolent Sergeant Lejaune. Not content to merely be a martinet, Lejaune sets his sights on stealing the jewel, which rumor holds to be in the brothers' possession. Meanwhile, the unruly troops he commands are planning a mutiny, and the marauding Tauregs pin this badly outnumbered and bitterly divided unit of Legionnaires at Fort Zinderneuf. The ensuing drama plays itself out as the French forces battle overwhelming odds. Ultimately, only a handful of men survive to discover the truth behind the Blue Water's disappearance. A classic, rip-roaring tale of adventure!