ZOLA EMILE: (1840-1902)
ZOLA EMILE: (1840-1902) French novelist, journalist and playwright. An excellent letter with good association, addressed to Maupassant, related to Flaubert and mentionning Daudet. A.L.S., Emile Zola, two pages, written to the first and third page, 4to, Medan, 20th May 1884, to Guy de Maupassant 'Mon cher ami', in French. Emile Zola and Guy de Maupassant met at Gustave Flaubert's house in 1874 and formed a sincere friendship, reinforced by common aesthetic principles. Although the styles and works of Zola and Maupassant differ, both novelists can be considered masters of naturalism; and as such, the greatest heirs of Flaubert. Caroline Commanville, niece of the writer Flaubert, asks Zola to send her the letters he has kept from her uncle. Zola seems to express reservations and wishes to comment this request with his correspondent who has received the same request, stating `Madame Commanville m’écrit pour me demander les lettres que m’a écrites Flaubert. Je lui réponds que depuis dix ans j’entasse tout ce que je reçois dans des caisses et qu’il faut que je me livre à un triage. Mais ces lettres sont si intimes, elles parlent si élogieusement de mes livres, que, même après les avoir retrouvées et classées, j’hésiterais à les donner. N’est-ce pas vous qui serez chargé de la publication de la correspondance ? Dans ce cas, je serais bien désireux de causer de l’affaire avec vous...´ (Translation: "Madame Commanville wrote to me asking for the letters Flaubert wrote to me. I replied that for the past ten years I've been piling everything I receive into boxes and that I need to sort through them. But these letters are so intimate, they speak so highly of my books, that even after finding and organizing them, I would hesitate to give them away. Aren't you the one who will be in charge of publishing the correspondence? In that case, I would be very keen to discuss the matter with you...") Maupassant will publish a set of 122 letters with Charpentier under the title Correspondence of Gustave Flaubert: Letters to George Sand. Further, Zola reminds a promise to Maupassant, and with a tone that reflects the brotherhood that unites the two writers, states `Rappelez-vous la promesse que vous m’avez faite de me venir voir à Médan. Si vous êtes libre, tombez quand il vous plaira : nous examinerons le cas ensemble.´ (Translation: "Remember the promise you made to come see me in Médan. If you are free, come whenever you like: we will examine the case together.") Further again and before concluding, Zola mentions another of their friends, Alphonse Daudet, whom Zola had also met through Flaubert. He too was apparently approached by Mme Commanville and seems to be experiencing some hesitation, saying `Daudet m’a écrit à ce propos, il est aussi embarrassé que moi.´ (Translation: "Daudet wrote to me about this; he is as embarrassed as I am.") VG to EX
Caroline Commanville, niece of Flaubert, was indeed preparing his general correspondence, which would appear in four volumes at Charpentier between 1887 and 1893.
Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) French novelist. It was under the patronage of Zola himself, as leader of naturalism, that Maupassant published his first short story, "Boule de suif", in the collective collection Les Soirées de Médan (1880).
Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) French novelist.
Alphonse Daudet (1840-1897) French novelist.
ZOLA EMILE: (1840-1902) French novelist, journalist and playwright. An excellent letter with good association, addressed to Maupassant, related to Flaubert and mentionning Daudet. A.L.S., Emile Zola, two pages, written to the first and third page, 4to, Medan, 20th May 1884, to Guy de Maupassant 'Mon cher ami', in French. Emile Zola and Guy de Maupassant met at Gustave Flaubert's house in 1874 and formed a sincere friendship, reinforced by common aesthetic principles. Although the styles and works of Zola and Maupassant differ, both novelists can be considered masters of naturalism; and as such, the greatest heirs of Flaubert. Caroline Commanville, niece of the writer Flaubert, asks Zola to send her the letters he has kept from her uncle. Zola seems to express reservations and wishes to comment this request with his correspondent who has received the same request, stating `Madame Commanville m’écrit pour me demander les lettres que m’a écrites Flaubert. Je lui réponds que depuis dix ans j’entasse tout ce que je reçois dans des caisses et qu’il faut que je me livre à un triage. Mais ces lettres sont si intimes, elles parlent si élogieusement de mes livres, que, même après les avoir retrouvées et classées, j’hésiterais à les donner. N’est-ce pas vous qui serez chargé de la publication de la correspondance ? Dans ce cas, je serais bien désireux de causer de l’affaire avec vous...´ (Translation: "Madame Commanville wrote to me asking for the letters Flaubert wrote to me. I replied that for the past ten years I've been piling everything I receive into boxes and that I need to sort through them. But these letters are so intimate, they speak so highly of my books, that even after finding and organizing them, I would hesitate to give them away. Aren't you the one who will be in charge of publishing the correspondence? In that case, I would be very keen to discuss the matter with you...") Maupassant will publish a set of 122 letters with Charpentier under the title Correspondence of Gustave Flaubert: Letters to George Sand. Further, Zola reminds a promise to Maupassant, and with a tone that reflects the brotherhood that unites the two writers, states `Rappelez-vous la promesse que vous m’avez faite de me venir voir à Médan. Si vous êtes libre, tombez quand il vous plaira : nous examinerons le cas ensemble.´ (Translation: "Remember the promise you made to come see me in Médan. If you are free, come whenever you like: we will examine the case together.") Further again and before concluding, Zola mentions another of their friends, Alphonse Daudet, whom Zola had also met through Flaubert. He too was apparently approached by Mme Commanville and seems to be experiencing some hesitation, saying `Daudet m’a écrit à ce propos, il est aussi embarrassé que moi.´ (Translation: "Daudet wrote to me about this; he is as embarrassed as I am.") VG to EX
Caroline Commanville, niece of Flaubert, was indeed preparing his general correspondence, which would appear in four volumes at Charpentier between 1887 and 1893.
Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) French novelist. It was under the patronage of Zola himself, as leader of naturalism, that Maupassant published his first short story, "Boule de suif", in the collective collection Les Soirées de Médan (1880).
Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) French novelist.
Alphonse Daudet (1840-1897) French novelist.
