ATALA Chateaubriand Gustave Doré Natchez Indian Deep South French Romanticism

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ATALA Chateaubriand Gustave Dor� Natchez Indian Deep South French Romanticism ATALA BY CHATEAUBRIAND TRANSLATED BY JAMES SPENCE HARRY ILLUSTRATED BY GUSTAVE DOR� INTRODUCTION BY EDWARD J. HARDING CASSEKK & COMPANY Limited NEW YORK, LONDON & PARIS 1884 Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand ((1768-1848) is considered the originator of Romanticism in French literature. " When the French Revolution broke out, Chateaubriand was initially sympathetic, but as events in Paris became more violent he decided to journey to North America in 1791. This experience would provide the setting for his exotic novels Les Natchez (written between 1793 and 1799 but published only in 1826), Atala (1801) and Ren� (1802). His vivid, captivating descriptions of nature in the sparsely settled American Deep South were written in a style that was very innovative for the time and spearheaded what would later become the Romantic movement in France. Later scholarship has cast doubt on Chateaubriand's claim that he had been granted an interview with George Washington or whether he actually lived for a time with the Native Americans he wrote about. "For his talent as much as his excesses, Chateaubriand may be considered the father of French Romanticism. His descriptions of Nature and his analysis of emotion made him the model for a generation of Romantic writers, not only in France but also abroad. For example, Lord Byron was deeply impressed by Ren� . The young Victor Hugo scribbled in a notebook, " To be Chateaubriand or nothing. " Even his enemies found it hard to avoid his influence. Stendhal, who despised him for political reasons, made use of his psychological analyses in his own book, De l'amour . "Chateaubriand was the first to define the vague des passions ("intimations of passion") which would become a commonplace of Romanticism: " One inhabits, with a full heart, an empty world " ( G�nie du Christianisme ). His political thought and actions seem to offer numerous contradictions: he wanted to be the friend both of legitimist royalty and of freedom, alternately defending which of the two seemed most in danger: " I am a Bourbonist out of honour, a monarchist out of reason, and a republican out of taste and temperament ". He was the first of a series of French men of letters (Lamartine, Victor Hugo, Andr� Malraux) who tried to mix political and literary careers. " 'We are convinced that the great writers have told their own story in their works' , wrote Chateaubriand in G�nie du christianisme , ' one only truly describes one's own heart by attributing it to another, and the greater part of genius is composed of memories' . This is certainly true of Chateaubriand himself. All his works have strong autobiographical elements, overt or disguised. Perhaps this is the reason why today M�moires d'outre-tombe are regarded as his finest achievement. "A food enthusiast, he coined the name of a dish made from a cut of tenderloin (the Chateaubriand steak )." (Wikipedia) The wonderfully creative artist Gustave Dore provided the Romantic, fantastic illustrations for this 1st Thus Edition of Atala, depicting American Natchez Indians and Louisiana, including buffalo and hanging tree moss! 12 3/4" x 10" 172 pages on glossy heavy stock Clean pages throughout Interior in excellent condition Former owner's pencilled signature dated December 25, 1884 All page edges gilt Edge wear on cover Cloth splits at top and bottom of front spine joint Corners rubbed Please e-mail with any questions! Shipping Shipping in the United States will be by your choice of priority, media mail, or 1st Class if the item does not weigh too much. If you choose media rate, please be patient because arrival time of items shipped by media can be very erratic. At times packages arrive between 7-10 days, other times it may take several weeks or longer! International ship... read more

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