Mémoires d’Outre-Tombe

6 parts of 12 volumes 12mo [190 x 125 mm]: I/ (2) ll., 140 pp. ; II/ pp. 141-356 ; III/ (2) ll., 180 pp. ; IV/ pp.181-374 ; V/ (2) ll., 232 pp. ; VI/ pp.233-471 ; VII/ (2) ll., 228 pp. ; VIII/ pp. 229-490 ; IX/ (2) ll., 180 pp. ; X/ pp.181-483 ; XI/ (2) ll., 212 pp. ; XII/ pp.213-516.

Contemporary wrappers, printed covers, case and jacket. Contemporary bindings.

Chateaubriand, François René de. Mémoires d’Outre-Tombe.

Bruxelles, Meline, Cans et Compagnie, 1848-1850.

“one of the most important texts of 19th century literature.” (Clouzot)

Paul Van der Perre, Les préfaçons des Mémoires d’Outre-Tombe, Bulletin du bibliophile, 1931.

“Asought-after edition of which the first volumes were published before the French edition.”

Clouzot, 66 ; En Français dans le texte, 268.

This pre-publication is so rare that in an article he published for the Bulletin du bibliophile de 1931, Paul van der Perre says he vainly looked for this edition but never managed to find it.

An autobiographical masterpiece destined by the author to be published only after his death, Les Mémoires d’outre-tombe are first published as a series three months after Chateaubriand’s death in July 1848.

“These Mémoires were the object of my predilection. Saint Bonaventure obtained from the heavens the permission of continuing his after his death. I don’t hope for such a favor but I would like to resuscitate at the ghostly hour to at least correct the proofs…”

In July 1817, in the park of the castle of Montboissier, a bird song awakens in him some memories of his youth : “I was drawn from my thoughts by the song of a thrush perched on one of the highest branches of a birch tree. In that instant, this magical sound caused my father’s home to reappear ; suddenly transported into the past, I once again saw the countryside landscapes where I so often heard thrushes sing…”

“The works and personality of Chateaubriand (1768-1848) dominate the literary scene of the 19th century.” Barbey d’Aurevilly says he was born, like Napoleon, with a star on his head, but whereas the Emperor’s paled and disappeared, his remained bright. Chateaubriand was praised and influential. The eyes of the world gazed at him and for a minute he participated in his country’s government. Above all, and it is quite a feat, he remained poetic. We owe him a new way of feeling, of thinking, of understanding and expressing ourselves. He opened the way to the Romantics. » (Talvart)

A unique work, written in an incredibly diverse style right in the middle of the Romantic era, the Mémoires are made up of this delicate alchemy that blends reality with fiction, a psychological investigation, admirable portraits and some of the most beautiful descriptions of landscapes in our literature.

An attractive copy of this very rare pre-publication of Chateaubriand’s masterpiece preserved in its original wrappers.

Provenance : Library of the abbot of Aubenas, with handwritten ex-libris on the covers of each volume.

Aubenas was the nephew of the abbot Bonnefoi who published in 1784 « De l’état religieux, son esprit, son établissement et ses progrès ».