Apr 2003 Entire PG Edition of The French Immortals [IM#87][imewk10.txt]4000
Apr 2003 Entire An "Attic" Philosopher by Souvestre [IM#86][im86b10.txt]3999
Apr 2003 An "Attic" Philosopher by E. Souvestre, v3 [IM#85][im85b10.txt]3998
Apr 2003 An "Attic" Philosopher by E. Souvestre, v2 [IM#84][im84b10.txt]3997
Apr 2003 An "Attic" Philosopher by E. Souvestre, v1 [IM#83][im83b10.txt]3996
Apr 2003 The Entire Madame Chrysantheme by Loti [IM#82][im82b10.txt]3995
Apr 2003 Madame Chrysantheme by Pierre Loti, v4 [IM#81][im81b10.txt]3994
Apr 2003 Madame Chrysantheme by Pierre Loti, v3 [IM#80][im80b10.txt]3993
Apr 2003 Madame Chrysantheme by Pierre Loti, v2 [IM#79][im79b10.txt]3992
Apr 2003 Madame Chrysantheme by Pierre Loti, v1 [IM#78][im78b10.txt]3991
Apr 2003 The Entire Conscience by Hector Malot [IM#77][im77b10.txt]3990
Apr 2003 Conscience by Hector Malot, v4 [IM#76][im76b10.txt]3989
Apr 2003 Conscience by Hector Malot, v3 [IM#75][im75b10.txt]3988
Apr 2003 Conscience by Hector Malot, v2 [IM#74][im74b10.txt]3987
Apr 2003 Conscience by Hector Malot, v1 [IM#73][im73b10.txt]3986
Apr 2003 The Entire Gerfaut by Charles de Bernard [IM#72][im72b10.txt]3885
Apr 2003 Gerfaut by Charles de Bernard, v4 [IM#71][im71b10.txt]3984
Apr 2003 Gerfaut by Charles de Bernard, v3 [IM#70][im70b10.txt]3983
Apr 2003 Gerfaut by Charles de Bernard, v2 [IM#69][im69b10.txt]3982
Apr 2003 Gerfaut by Charles de Bernard, v1 [IM#68][im68b10.txt]3981
Apr 2003 The Entire Fromont and Risler, by Daudet [IM#67][im67b10.txt]3980
Apr 2003 Fromont and Risler by Alphonse Daudet, v4 [IM#66][im66b10.txt]3979
Apr 2003 Fromont and Risler by Alphonse Daudet, v3 [IM#65][im65b10.txt]3978
Apr 2003 Fromont and Risler by Alphonse Daudet, v2 [IM#64][im64b10.txt]3977
Apr 2003 Fromont and Risler by Alphonse Daudet, v1 [IM#63][im63b10.txt]3976
Apr 2003 Entire The Ink-Stain by Rene Bazin [IM#62][im62b10.txt]3975
Apr 2003 The Ink-Stain by Rene Bazin, v3 [IM#61][im61b10.txt]3974
Apr 2003 The Ink-Stain by Rene Bazin, v2 [IM#60][im60b10.txt]3973
Apr 2003 The Ink-Stain by Rene Bazin, v1 [IM#59][im59b10.txt]3972
Apr 2003 Entire Jacqueline by Bentzon (Mme. Blanc) [IM#58][im58b10.txt]3971
Apr 2003 Jacqueline by Th. Bentzon (Mme. Blanc), v3 [IM#57][im57b10.txt]3970
Apr 2003 Jacqueline by Th. Bentzon (Mme. Blanc), v2 [IM#56][im56b10.txt]3969
Apr 2003 Jacqueline by Th. Bentzon (Mme. Blanc), v1 [IM#55][im55b10.txt]3968
Apr 2003 Entire Cosmopolis by Paul Bourget [IM#54][im54b10.txt]3967
Apr 2003 Cosmopolis by Paul Bourget, v4 [IM#53][im53b10.txt]3966
Apr 2003 Cosmopolis by Paul Bourget, v3 [IM#52][im52b10.txt]3965
Apr 2003 Cosmopolis by Paul Bourget, v2 [IM#51][im51b10.txt]3964
Apr 2003 Cosmopolis by Paul Bourget, v1 [IM#50][im50b10.txt]3963
Apr 2003 Entire Romance of Youth by Francois Coppee [IM#49][im49b10.txt]3962
Apr 2003 A Romance of Youth by Francois Coppee, v4 [IM#48][im48b10.txt]3961
Apr 2003 A Romance of Youth by Francois Coppee, v3 [IM#47][im47b10.txt]3960
Apr 2003 A Romance of Youth by Francois Coppee, v2 [IM#46][im46b10.txt]3959
Apr 2003 A Romance of Youth by Francois Coppee, v1 [IM#45][im45b10.txt]3958
Apr 2003 Entire L'Abbe Constantin by Ludovic Halevy [IM#44][im44b10.txt]3957
Apr 2003 L'Abbe Constantin by Ludovic Halevy, v3 [IM#43][im43b10.txt]3956
Apr 2003 L'Abbe Constantin by Ludovic Halevy, v2 [IM#42][im42b10.txt]3955
Apr 2003 L'Abbe Constantin by Ludovic Halevy, v1 [IM#41][im41b10.txt]3954
Apr 2003 The Entire Cinq Mars, by Alfred de Vigny [IM#40][im40b10.txt]3953
Apr 2003 Cinq Mars, by Alfred de Vigny, v6 [IM#39][im39b10.txt]3952
Apr 2003 Cinq Mars, by Alfred de Vigny, v5 [IM#38][im38b10.txt]3951
Apr 2003 Cinq Mars, by Alfred de Vigny, v4 [IM#37][im37b10.txt]3950
Apr 2003 Cinq Mars, by Alfred de Vigny, v3 [IM#36][im36b10.txt]3949
Apr 2003 Cinq Mars, by Alfred de Vigny, v2 [IM#35][im35b10.txt]3948
Apr 2003 Cinq Mars, by Alfred de Vigny, v1 [IM#34][im34b10.txt]3947
Apr 2003 Entire Monsieur de Camors by Oct. Feuillet [IM#33][im33b10.txt]3946
Apr 2003 Monsieur de Camors by Octave Feuillet, v3 [IM#32][im32b10.txt]3945
Apr 2003 Monsieur de Camors by Octave Feuillet, v2 [IM#31][im31b10.txt]3944
Apr 2003 Monsieur de Camors by Octave Feuillet, v1 [IM#30][im30b10.txt]3943
Apr 2003 Entire Child of a Century, Alfred de Musset[IM#29][im29b10.txt]3942
Apr 2003 Child of a Century, Alfred de Musset, v3 [IM#28][im28b10.txt]3941
Apr 2003 Child of a Century, Alfred de Musset, v2 [IM#27][im27b10.txt]3940
Apr 2003 Child of a Century, Alfred de Musset, v1 [IM#26][im26b10.txt]3939
Apr 2003 Entire A Woodland Queen, by Andre Theuriet [IM#25][im25b10.txt]3938
Apr 2003 A Woodland Queen, by Andre Theuriet, v3 [IM#24][im24b10.txt]3937
Apr 2003 A Woodland Queen, by Andre Theuriet, v2 [IM#23][im23b10.txt]3936
Apr 2003 A Woodland Queen, by Andre Theuriet, v1 [IM#22][im22b10.txt]3935
Apr 2003 The Entire Zebiline by Phillipe de Masa [IM#21][im21b10.txt]3934
Apr 2003 Zebiline by Phillipe de Masa, v3 [IM#20][im20b10.txt]3933
Apr 2003 Zebiline by Phillipe de Masa, v2 [IM#19][im19b10.txt]3932
Apr 2003 Zebiline by Phillipe de Masa, v1 [IM#18][im18b10.txt]3931
Apr 2003 The Entire Prince Zilah by Jules Claretie [IM#17][im17b10.txt]3930
Apr 2003 Prince Zilah, by Jules Claretie, v3 [IM#16][im16b10.txt]3929
Apr 2003 Prince Zilah, by Jules Claretie, v2 [IM#15][im15b10.txt]3928
Apr 2003 Prince Zilah, by Jules Claretie, v1 [IM#14][im14b10.txt]3927
Apr 2003 The Entire MM.and Bebe by Gustave Droz [IM#13][im13b10.txt]3926
Apr 2003 MM.and Bebe by Gustave Droz, v3 [IM#12][im12b10.txt]3925
Apr 2003 MM.and Bebe by Gustave Droz, v2 [IM#11][im11b10.txt]3924
Apr 2003 MM.and Bebe by Gustave Droz, v1 [IM#10][im10b10.txt]3923
Apr 2003 Entire The Red Lily, by Anatole France [IM#09][im09b10.txt]3922
Apr 2003 The Red Lily, by Anatole France, v3 [IM#08][im08b10.txt]3921
Apr 2003 The Red Lily, by Anatole France, v2 [IM#07][im07b10.txt]3920
Apr 2003 The Red Lily, by Anatole France, v1 [IM#06][im06b10.txt]3919
Apr 2003 The Entire Serge Panine, by Georges Ohnet [IM#05][im05b10.txt]3918
Apr 2003 Serge Panine, by Georges Ohnet, v4 [IM#04][im04b10.txt]3917
Apr 2003 Serge Panine, by Georges Ohnet, v3 [IM#03][im03b10.txt]3916
Apr 2003 Serge Panine, by Georges Ohnet, v2 [IM#02][im02b10.txt]3915
Apr 2003 Serge Panine, by Georges Ohnet, v1 [IM#01][im01b10.txt]3914
GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES BY GASTON BOISSIER,
SECRETAIRE PERPETUEL DE L'ACADEMIE FRANCAISE.
The editor-in-chief of the Maison Mazarin--a man of letters who cherishes
an enthusiastic yet discriminating love for the literary and artistic
glories of France--formed within the last two pears the great project of
collecting and presenting to the vast numbers of intelligent readers of
whom New World boasts a series of those great and undying romances which,
since 1784, have received the crown of merit awarded by the French
Academy--that coveted assurance of immortality in letters and in art.
In the presentation of this serious enterprise for the criticism and
official sanction of The Academy, 'en seance', was included a request
that, if possible, the task of writing a preface to the series should be
undertaken by me. Official sanction having been bestowed upon the plan,
I, as the accredited officer of the French Academy, convey to you its
hearty appreciation, endorsement, and sympathy with a project so nobly
artistic. It is also my duty, privilege, and pleasure to point out, at
the request of my brethren, the peculiar importance and lasting value of
this series to all who would know the inner life of a people whose
greatness no turns of fortune have been able to diminish.
In the last hundred years France has experienced the most terrible
vicissitudes, but, vanquished or victorious, triumphant or abased, never
has she lost her peculiar gift of attracting the curiosity of the world.
She interests every living being, and even those who do not love her
desire to know her. To this peculiar attraction which radiates from her,
artists and men of letters can well bear witness, since it is to
literature and to the arts, before all, that France owes such living and
lasting power. In every quarter of the civilized world there are
distinguished writers, painters, and eminent musicians, but in France
they exist in greater numbers than elsewhere. Moreover, it is
universally conceded that French writers and artists have this particular
and praiseworthy quality: they are most accessible to people of other
countries. Without losing their national characteristics, they possess
the happy gift of universality. To speak of letters alone: the books
that Frenchmen write are read, translated, dramatized, and imitated
everywhere; so it is not strange that these books give to foreigners a
desire for a nearer and more intimate acquaintance with France.
Men preserve an almost innate habit of resorting to Paris from almost
every quarter of the globe. For many years American visitors have been
more numerous than others, although the journey from the United States is
long and costly. But I am sure that when for the first time they see
Paris--its palaces, its churches, its museums--and visit Versailles,
Fontainebleau, and Chantilly, they do not regret the travail they have
undergone. Meanwhile, however, I ask myself whether such sightseeing is
all that, in coming hither, they wish to accomplish. Intelligent
travellers--and, as a rule, it is the intelligent class that feels the
need of the educative influence of travel--look at our beautiful
monuments, wander through the streets and squares among the crowds that
fill them, and, observing them, I ask myself again: Do not such people
desire to study at closer range these persons who elbow them as they
pass; do they not wish to enter the houses of which they see but the
facades; do they not wish to know how Parisians live and speak and act by
their firesides? But time, alas! is lacking for the formation of those
intimate friendships which would bring this knowledge within their grasp.
French homes are rarely open to birds of passage, and visitors leave us
with regret that they have not been able to see more than the surface of
our civilization or to recognize by experience the note of our inner home
life.
How, then, shall this void be filled? Speaking in the first person, the
simplest means appears to be to study those whose profession it is to
describe the society of the time, and primarily, therefore, the works of
dramatic writers, who are supposed to draw a faithful picture of it. So
we go to the theatre, and usually derive keen pleasure therefrom. But is
pleasure all that we expect to find? What we should look for above
everything in a comedy or a drama is a representation, exact as possible,
of the manners and characters of the dramatis persona of the play; and
perhaps the conditions under which the play was written do not allow such
representation. The exact and studied portrayal of a character demands
from the author long preparation, and cannot be accomplished in a few
hours. From, the first scene to the last, each tale must be posed in the
author's mind exactly as it will be proved to be at the end. It is the
author's aim and mission to place completely before his audience the
souls of the "agonists" laying bare the complications of motive, and
throwing into relief the delicate shades of motive that sway them.
Often, too, the play is produced before a numerous audience--an audience
often distrait, always pressed for time, and impatient of the least
delay. Again, the public in general require that they shall be able to
understand without difficulty, and at first thought, the characters the
author seeks to present, making it necessary that these characters be
depicted from their most salient sides--which are too often vulgar and
unattractive.
In our comedies and dramas it is not the individual that is drawn, but
the type. Where the individual alone is real, the type is a myth of the
imagination--a pure invention. And invention is the mainspring of the
theatre, which rests purely upon illusion, and does not please us unless
it begins by deceiving us.
I believe, then, that if one seeks to know the world exactly as it is,
the theatre does not furnish the means whereby one can pursue the study.
A far better opportunity for knowing the private life of a people is
available through the medium of its great novels. The novelist deals
with each person as an individual. He speaks to his reader at an hour
when the mind is disengaged from worldly affairs, and he can add without
restraint every detail that seems needful to him to complete the rounding
of his story. He can return at will, should he choose, to the source of
the plot he is unfolding, in order that his reader may better understand
him; he can emphasize and dwell upon those details which an audience in a
theatre will not allow.
The reader, being at leisure, feels no impatience, for he knows that he
can at any time lay down or take up the book. It is the consciousness of
this privilege that gives him patience, should he encounter a dull page
here or there. He may hasten or delay his reading, according to the
interest he takes in his romance-nay, more, he can return to the earlier
pages, should he need to do so, for a better comprehension of some
obscure point. In proportion as he is attracted and interested by the
romance, and also in the degree of concentration with which he reads it,
does he grasp better the subtleties of the narrative. No shade of
character drawing escapes him. He realizes, with keener appreciation,
the most delicate of human moods, and the novelist is not compelled to
introduce the characters to him, one by one, distinguishing them only by
the most general characteristics, but can describe each of those little
individual idiosyncrasies that contribute to the sum total of a living
personality.
When I add that the dramatic author is always to a certain extent a slave
to the public, and must ever seek to please the passing taste of his
time, it will be recognized that he is often, alas! compelled to
sacrifice his artistic leanings to popular caprice-that is, if he has the
natural desire that his generation should applaud him.
As a rule, with the theatre-going masses, one person follows the fads or
fancies of others, and individual judgments are too apt to be
irresistibly swayed by current opinion. But the novelist, entirely
independent of his reader, is not compelled to conform himself to the
opinion of any person, or to submit to his caprices. He is absolutely
free to picture society as he sees it, and we therefore can have more
confidence in his descriptions of the customs and characters of the day.
It is precisely this view of the case that the editor of the series has
taken, and herein is the raison d'etre of this collection of great French
romances. The choice was not easy to make. That form of literature
called the romance abounds with us. France has always loved it, for
French writers exhibit a curiosity--and I may say an indiscretion--that
is almost charming in the study of customs and morals at large; a quality
that induces them to talk freely of themselves and of their neighbors,
and to set forth fearlessly both the good and the bad in human nature.
In this fascinating phase of literature, France never has produced
greater examples than of late years.
In the collection here presented to American readers will be found those
works especially which reveal the intimate side of French social life-
works in which are discussed the moral problems that affect most potently
the life of the world at large. If inquiring spirits seek to learn the
customs and manners of the France of any age, they must look for it among
her crowned romances. They need go back no farther than Ludovic Halevy,
who may be said to open the modern epoch. In the romantic school, on its
historic side, Alfred de Vigny must be looked upon as supreme. De Musset
and Anatole France may be taken as revealing authoritatively the moral
philosophy of nineteenth-century thought. I must not omit to mention the
Jacqueline of Th. Bentzon, and the "Attic" Philosopher of Emile
Souvestre, nor the, great names of Loti, Claretie, Coppe, Bazin, Bourget,
Malot, Droz, De Massa, and last, but not least, our French Dickens,
Alphonse Daudet. I need not add more; the very names of these
"Immortals" suffice to commend the series to readers in all countries.
One word in conclusion: America may rest assured that her students of
international literature will find in this series of 'ouvrages couronnes'
all that they may wish to know of France at her own fireside--a knowledge
that too often escapes them, knowledge that embraces not only a faithful
picture of contemporary life in the French provinces, but a living and
exact description of French society in modern times. They may feel
certain that when they have read these romances, they will have sounded
the depths and penetrated into the hidden intimacies of France, not only
as she is, but as she would be known.