Don’t worry, Flaubert didn’t know how to spell “Pyrenees” either – Liberation

2023-06-01 14:37:51

The manuscript of early works reissued this Thursday, June 1 reveals this unexpected fault in the work of the pillar of the realist literary movement.

Let the students who stumbled over the spelling of “Pyrenees” console themselves: Gustave Flaubert himself made a mistake in this proper name, as revealed by the manuscript of early works reissued this Thursday, June 1. Pyrenees and Corsica is one of the four texts of Youth stories of the famous writer brought together by Classic Folio. Page 236, surprise or even amazement on discovering the facsimile of the title page of the original manuscript: the author of Madame Bovary écrit Pyrenees & Corsicawith two n.

This discovery in the writings of the pillar of the realist movement will bring down more than one ardent defender of the language of Molière. In particular those with a uniquely declining view of the lexical and spelling skills of young French people, a view that some press particularly like to echo. Yes, we can have made mistakes and become one of the greatest French novelists of the 19th century.

This travelogue, unknown during the author’s lifetime, has already appeared under various names: we separated “Pyrenees” et «Corse», where they have been brought together under the headings Trip to the Pyrenees and Corsica et Pyrenees-Corsica. “Even the title chosen by Flaubert is misleading since in truth he visits all of the south of France, from Bordeaux to Bastia via Carcassonne and Toulon”, slice Jacques Letertre, the owner of the manuscript, questioned by AFP. Geography level, so we will also go back.

A post-baccalaureate journey

The journey lasts a little over two months, from August 22 to November 1, 1840, to reward the 18-year-old young man for having obtained the baccalaureate. Jacques Letertre is a bibliophile who acquired this manuscript in December 2021, for nearly 53,000 euros, during the dispersal of the collections of Aristophil, a manuscript investment company which had gone bankrupt in 2016. Aristophil had it acquired in 2004 in Germany, the country where the manuscript had left during the liquidation in 1931 of the inheritance of the niece of the novelist, Caroline Hamard.

This travelogue was first published among the complete works in 1910. The publisher at the time, Louis Conard, had worked from the manuscript loaned by the rights holder. We ignored, for long decades, if Pyrenees & Corsica survived World War II intact. “In posthumous editions at the time, there was not the same fierce attention to the letter of the manuscript as today. Most of Flaubert was published after his death. He was therefore unable to reread and there were errors”, explains Jacques Letertre.

An academic specialist in Flaubert, Yvan Leclerc, has completely revised the text, as well as that of November, thanks to the manuscript acquired in November 2022 by the metropolis of Rouen, the author’s birthplace, for 143,000 euros.

Flaubert began writing at an early age, including stories now considered indicative of his mastery as a novelist, Memoirs of a Madman in 1838 and November in 1842. But he published nothing until the success of Madame Bovaryat age 45, in 1857. He died in 1880 with essentially three novels to his credit.