Captain Fracasse (French:Le Capitaine Fracasse) is an 1863 novel by the French writer Théophile Gautier. It is an adventure novel set in the seventeenth century. The story has been adapted for film and television numerous times. The novel recounts the story of the baron of Sigognac during the reign of Louis XIII of France (reign 1610-1643), a destitute nobleman who decides to abandon his castle to join a theatrical troupe out of love of a young actress.