Uranus (translated into English as The Barkeep of Blémont) is a French novel by Marcel Aymé, published in 1948. It is the third book in a trilogy covering the pre-war, war, and post-war periods in France. The first volume is Travelingue (1948), set during the time of the Front Populaire; the second is Le Chemin des écoliers (1946), set during the Nazi occupation. The third book, Uranus, focuses on post-war France and the épuration (the purge): the social cleansing that sought to discipline collaborators. During this period, people were shaved, humiliated, beaten, and often killed without a fair trial.
The central character of the book is Léopold, the owner of a coffee shop who discovers a passion for the works of Jean Racine, particularly Andromaque, through lessons that, due to the bombing of the school, must now take place in his establishment.
The novel was adapted into a film, also titled Uranus, directed by Claude Berri in 1990. Le Chemin des écoliers was adapted as the film Way of Youth by Michel Boisrond in 1959.
