Que ma joie demeure
Paris, Grasset, (April 15) 1935.
1 vol. (120 x 190 mm) of 493 p. and [1] f. Half bordeaux morocco with corners, spine with raised bands decorated with gilt compartments, gilt title, date gilt at foot, gilt top edge, original wrappers and spine preserved, matching slipcase (binding signed P.-L. Martin).
First edition.
One of the first 9 copies on China paper (no. 3).
One of the first 9 copies on China paper (no. 3).
Following the early success of the Trilogie de Pan (Colline, Un de Baumugnes and Regain) and the epic Le Chant du monde, Giono had been working since February 1934 on a more ambitious novel, its title borrowed from Bach’s cantata. He completed it in early 1935, “drunk with an intoxication I had never known, which nothing can approach or replace” (letter to Roger Dabit, January 1935). Dedicated to his wife — “À Elise, dont la pureté m’aide à vivre” — the novel is set close to the Montagne de Lure, where Giono would discover, a few months later, a place that would leave a lasting mark on his life and work: the hamlet of Le Contadour, near Banon.
A very fine copy.
From the libraries of José David and Marcel de Merre (Sotheby’s, 2007, no. 362).
#25444
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