"Your example hardly encourages me to travel further south up the Nile. I will content myself, this time, with Luxor, where I plan to stay for another ten days or so; then I will head straight for Alexandria."
Sold
Andre Gide (1869.1951).
Correspondence to his friend René Berthelot.
A set of six autograph letters signed and two letters signed.
Five pages in quarto and four pages in octavo. Envelopes.
Paris, Luxor, Nice between January 1929 and April 1942.
__________________________________________________
Letter I. Paris. January 5, 1929. “My dear friend, It has been so long since I last saw you that I no longer know if I wasn't addressing you informally at first. I have just received this letter from you, which gives me immense pleasure. I had already read, with great interest, your study on Shakespearean Wisdom, but only knew of Goethe's Wisdom through the high praise Marcel Drouin had given me. I am taking you with me to Algiers (I am embarking in a few days), delighted to have you as my traveling companion and to discuss Goethe with you, a subject with which one never truly finishes. I am also taking, needless to say, your translation of Shelley ; happy to see that you have translated the Epipsychidion, for which I have a particular fondness, and which I will reread once again with you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. And most affectionately yours, André Gide.” P.S. - Enclosed are two letters that you had forgotten in one of the booklets.
______________________________________
Letter II. Paris. December 16, 1929. “My dear friend, I found your letter upon returning to Paris this morning . I would be so happy to see your essays on Shakespeare and Goethe published in the Nouvelle Revue Française that I immediately went to speak to the editor and two of the principal reviewers. If you happen to have a copy of your manuscript, would you send it to Mr. André Malraux, for the care of the NRF? I so greatly desire that this will succeed that I already dare to call it hope. Yours very affectionately, André Gide”
______________________________________
Letter III. [Luxor. February 1939] “Dear friend, Your friends point out to me that… but it would be better if you came and talked with us for a little while longer. I have something quite important to tell you. André Gide”
______________________________________
Letter IV. Luxor, March 1 [ 1939]. “My dear friend, Your excellent letter is a welcome reassurance. I was eagerly awaiting it, as you had left us—the Solennichafs and myself, and a few others—quite worried. The genuine anxiety with which people asked me, ‘Have you received any news?’ would have given you a sense of the affection you both left behind in Luxor. This ‘they’ includes the Chevriers, Robichons, and Varilles. I send you everyone’s best wishes. May Madame René Berthelot’s speedy recovery now allow you to return to France without further delay! But your example certainly doesn’t encourage me to travel further south up the Nile. I will content myself, this time, with Luxor, where I intend to stay for another ten days or so; then I will head straight for Alexandria —where I dare not hope to find you… but I will make inquiries nonetheless.” You will have understood, without needing to repeat it, the great pleasure I had in seeing you again and in meeting Madame René Berthelot – to whom you will kindly convey my best wishes and affectionate regards. Very attentively yours, André Gide.
______________________________________
Letter V. Paris. June 13 [1939]. “Dear friend, Yes, I would be delighted. I am somewhat embarrassed that I did not anticipate your call, as I had intended to do upon my return from Greece, and I thank you for not holding it against me. I will be very pleased to see you again and, I hope, to find Madame René Berthelot fully recovered. Since you are giving me the choice, I will come and ring at your door tomorrow, Wednesday, at half past noon. Yours very affectionately, André Gide”
______________________________________
Letter VI. [Nice]. January 28, [19]42. “Dear friend, dear friends, I was somewhat jealous of Roger Martin du Gard, who had told me of his pleasure at meeting you in Évian. But your note delights me. I will gladly await you next Saturday afternoon at the Hôtel Adriatic – very happy to see you both again. Yours affectionately, André Gide”
______________________________________
Letter VII. Hôtel Adriatique. Nice. March 6 [1942]. “Dear friend – dear friends, The news from you that Roger Martin du Gard gave me this evening, though vague and uncertain, worries me greatly, and I feel how vivid and deep my old friendship is, which now extends to you both. A feeling of unease would disappear if I could do you the slightest service. And how many wishes I make that this message will reassure me. Believe me, both of you, your most devoted friend. André Gide”
______________________________________
Letter VIII. [Nice]. April 27, [19]42. “Dear friend, Thank you for your letter. I am happy to receive, before my imminent departure (I am embarking on May 2nd for Tunis), reassuring news from Madame Berthelot. Please reiterate my heartfelt affection for her. I completely agree with you about Aragon's poems. I was thinking of giving you this little volume and am still a bit confused about the cost of repayment. Roger M. du G. informed me yesterday of the terrible loss that has struck your friends the Parodi family. I don't know them well enough to write to them, but my heart is heavy with grief over this abominable tragedy. Yours very sincerely, André Gide”