Louis-Ferdinand Céline rejoices in the dazzling success of his "Voyage".

Louis-Ferdinand Céline (1894.1961)

Autographed letter signed to Lucien, Pierre and Max Descaves.

Two octavo pages on letterhead of the Palace Hotel of Prague.

[Prague. Monday, June 19, 1933]

Unpublished letter to the Pléiade correspondence.

"We sold 90,000 Voyages . I owe you at least 70,000 – that's a lifetime ."

From Prague, the French writer, grateful to the Descaves, rejoices in the commercial success of his masterpiece, Voyage au bout de la nuit, which is about to be translated into Czech.

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"Dear friends, Still on the go and still thinking of you all. I'll be back on Sunday and will be bothering you from Monday onwards.".

We sold 90,000 Voyages [sic] (in France).

I owe you at least 70,000 – that is, a lifetime .

Affectionately, Destouches.

Needless to say, we still talk about the Goncourt Prize a great deal here , as if it were yesterday.

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Published on October 15, 1932, Céline's first novel was an immediate sensation and commercial success. The first translation of the novel appeared in 1933 in Czechoslovakia, at the initiative of the Jewish-born writer Richard Weiner, Paris correspondent for the Czech newspaper Lidové noviny . Journey has now been translated into thirty-seven languages.

In late 1932, Journey to the End of the Night caused a publishing earthquake, initiating a pitched battle between Céline's supporters and detractors over the awarding of the Goncourt Prize. Lucien Descaves, a member of the jury, used all his influence to ensure Céline received the prize. His sons, Pierre and Max, wrote numerous laudatory articles in support of him.

The Goncourt Prize was finally awarded to Guy Mazeline for his work Les Loups , in the first round of voting, by six votes against three for Céline (L. Descaves, J. Ajalbert and Léon Daudet) who was finally awarded the Renaudot Prize.