André Gide wrote to Paul Claudel about his enthusiasm for "Protée".

André Gide (1869.1951).

Autographed letter signed to Paul Claudel.

Two octavo pages on letterhead from the Hôtel de Flandre.

[Bruges] November 24, 1913.

"Gallimard had just received Protée… I couldn't resist my impatient desire and I put the manuscript in my suitcase."

Gide was enthusiastic about Claudel's play.

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“My dear friend, I was called away to Bruges before I could send you Whitman. Please excuse me. I'm returning to Paris tomorrow. You'll receive the book in a few days. But that's not why I'm writing. Gallimard had just received Protée… I couldn't resist my eager desire and I put the manuscript in my suitcase. There's no better place to read than in a train carriage… I'm delighted, amazed. Your Protée is prodigious. You must capitalize on this, my dear friend. What a wonderful opportunity it will give your friends to applaud you and fight a little for you!”

If I may offer some advice… don't let it appear first in book form or in a magazine—but rather immediately on the stage . The Vieux Colombier would perform it, perhaps a little less well than it would have been performed in Germany, but certainly better than it would have been performed anywhere else in Paris. I don't doubt that Copeau is as enthusiastic as I am—though that's saying something!—I would like to see it staged right away. Proteus will rejuvenate us all. I can already hear the murmurs in the hall, the hisses and the long ovation… What an absurd letter I'm writing you! But it does me good to write it —if I waited until tomorrow, I would already only be able to write at length. Yours truly, André Gide.

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The play Protée was written by Paul Claudel in 1913 in Germany, while he was serving as Consul General in Frankfurt. Claudel had commissioned Darius Milhaud to compose music for the stage production. Despite Gide's enthusiasm and the efforts of several directors, the play was not performed during Paul Claudel's lifetime. The first theatrical performance took place only on February 25, 1955 (two days after the author's death) at the Comédie de Paris.