Before the legend there was a life; before the hero there was a man. Today, Cyrano de Bergerac is generally only remembered as a lovelorn eccentric with a big nose. Edmund Rostand's famous play inspired by the life of Cyrano is a worldwide box-office smash but the man behind the legend is more or less forgotten. The real Cyrano was sharper, funnier, and, ironically, more modern than the romantic hero he inspired. - Jacket flap.