Le Pouvoir
One of the first 200 hors commerce copies (no. 5).
Inscribed and signed: “À vous, chère Madeleine, en vous remerciant de tout ce que vous avez fait pour [Le Pouvoir] et son auteur… Avec encore un peu de lumière toscane pour éclairer mes tendres pensées. Maurice 31-1-65.”
Preserved with the copy: 23 manuscript leaves (on blue or white paper) — notes and maxims that he used, as written or in revised form, for the writing of the text.
Published in 1964, Le Pouvoir reflects a body of thought nourished by experience, at a moment when Maurice Druon — still primarily a novelist and historian — was already being courted as a public figure. This dense and often critical text examines the underlying mechanisms of power: legitimacy, morality, force, manipulation. These themes, in their gravity, anticipate Druon’s later roles as minister and academician.
This copy offers a living record of that reflection, enriched with a remarkable set of 23 manuscript leaves: notes, maxims, fragments, thoughts and aphorisms, all preparatory material for the writing of the book. Some were incorporated into the published text, occasionally verbatim; others remained unpublished, reserved for private reflection or exchange among intimates. In their spontaneity and tone, these leaves form the discreet workshop of a significant book in Druon’s career, published in the wake of his political columns, at a time when he was increasingly called upon for his public positions.
The inscription to Madeleine Mérignac, whom Druon would marry shortly afterward, testifies to the role she played in the shaping of his texts. Confidante, editor and source of inspiration, Madeleine is inseparable from the “Tuscan light” he evokes in his inscription, probably a reference to time spent together in Italy.