The Vatican Swindle

work by Gide

Also known as: “Les Caves du Vatican”, “The Vatican Cellars”

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July 14, 2026

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"The Vatican Swindle" is the English title for André Gide's novel Les Caves du Vatican. Published in 1914, this work is known for its satire of humanity's submission to authoritarian beliefs and its celebration of the acte gratuit—an action taken not for personal gain but as a genuine expression of self. The novel is noted for its anarchist themes and its critique of societal structures. It is considered a precursor to Gide's more complex novel, The Counterfeiters.12

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André Gide
Great creative period
Les Caves du Vatican (1914; The Vatican Swindle) marks the transition to the second phase of Gide’s great creative period. He called it not a tale but a sotie, by which he meant a satirical work whose foolish or mad characters are treated farcically within…
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Les Caves du Vatican (1914; The Vatican Swindle) marks the transition to the second phase of Gide’s great creative period. He called it not a tale but a sotie, by which he meant a satirical work whose foolish or mad characters are treated farcically within…
Read More

French literature
Gide
…Les Caves du Vatican (1914; The Vatican Cellars) caught the fancy of intellectuals with an anarchist bent, partly because of its celebration of the acte gratuit, undertaken not for gain or self-interest but as a gesture of authentic self-expression, but also because of its outrageously funny satire on humanity’s submission…
Read More
…Les Caves du Vatican (1914; The Vatican Cellars) caught the fancy of intellectuals with an anarchist bent, partly because of its celebration of the acte gratuit, undertaken not for gain or self-interest but as a gesture of authentic self-expression, but also because of its outrageously funny satire on humanity’s submission…
Read More