Les Enchanteurs

Together with Éducation européenne and Europa, Les Enchanteurs is the Romain Gary novel in which the European dimension — and in particular the Slavic vein — is most apparent. To write this novel, set entirely in the eighteenth century, Gary undertook extensive research: he “read numerous works dating from the Enlightenment or dealing with that period. In addition to the Mémoires of Casanova and of figures such as Alexandre de Tilly, we know that he drew particular inspiration from Pushkin’s The Captain’s Daughter, one of his favorite authors, as well as from Pierre Pascal’s book La Révolte de Pougatchev. The solidity of these historical references, combined with Gary’s gift for storytelling, gives this tale a fantastical quality” (Larat, Romain Gary, une trajectoire dans le siècle, II, p. 83).

The novel follows the Zaga family, Venetian street performers who have mastered the art of illusion, predicting the future or curing the most improbable ailments. All of them are perfect masters of the comedia dell’arte — a talent Gary himself would demonstrate brilliantly the following year, when he published, in a remarkable feat, four titles under four different names (François Bondy, Émile Ajar, Shatan Bogat and René Deville).

A perfect copy.