"The Recruit" by Honoré de Balzac is set in 1793 in Carentan, in Normandy. A local aristocrat, Madame de Dey lives at her estate at Carentan to ensure that it is not confiscated by the government. Her son is taking part in a Royalist uprising. She refuses visitors for two days, and buys a hare at the market. This arouses suspicions that she is either sheltering a Royalist priest or hiding a lover. When visited by a local merchant, she admits that she has received a letter from her son.