Léon Morin prêtre

Name: Léon Morin prêtre
SKU: 31987
Author: Béatrix Beck

Paris, Gallimard, (February) 1952.

1 vol. (115 x 185 mm) of 237 p. and [1] f. Half burgundy morocco with corners, spine with raised bands, gilt title, date gilt at foot, gilt fillet on covers, top edge gilt, original wrappers and spine preserved (binding signed by Devauchelle).

First edition.

One of the first 60 copies on vélin pur fil (no. 15).

Prix Goncourt 1952. A former student and secretary of André Gide, Béatrix Beck (1914–2008) won the Prix Goncourt with this daring novel, in which a young communist widow, Barny, meets Léon Morin, a priest in a provincial village during the Occupation. Between them develops an intellectual and spiritual dialogue, at once intense and ambiguous, mixing desire, conversion and ideological confrontation.

The 1952 vote was decisive: Léon Morin, prêtre won on the first ballot, ahead of Pierre Boulle’s Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï, Antoine Blondin’s Les Enfants du bon Dieu (which received the loyal vote of Roland Dorgelès), and Georges Arnaud’s Le Salaire de la peur. French-speaking Belgium had reason to celebrate having outdone this trio, especially since, alongside Beck, the Ixelles-born Dominique Rolin won the Prix Femina the same year.

The novel was a great success, further reinforced by Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1961 film adaptation, with Jean-Paul Belmondo as the priest and Emmanuelle Riva as Barny.

#31987

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