One of 69 copies from the deluxe issue on vergé de hollande paper, this copy no. 44.
Written between his resignation from government on 20 January 1946 and his return to power in 1958, the Mémoires de guerre allowed Charles de Gaulle to set out the historical record of the fight for the liberation of France. He recounted in careful detail the epic of Free France, presenting himself as the patriotic defender of his country’s greatness: “All my life I have had a certain idea of France. This is inspired in me as much by feeling as by reason […] Only vast undertakings are capable of counterbalancing the ferments of dispersal which are inherent in her people; our country, as it is, surrounded by the others, as they are, must aim high and hold itself straight, or risk mortal danger. In short, to my mind, France cannot be France without greatness.”
It was through Charles Orengo, and out of loyalty to the house that had published him just before the war, that de Gaulle turned to Plon for these volumes, against the advice of Malraux, who had recommended Gallimard. He remained loyal to Plon for the rest of his memoirs (Mémoires d’espoir, Discours et Messages, and later Lettres, notes et carnets).
Unlike so many statesmen, de Gaulle, the son of a teacher of literature, wrote all of his speeches and books himself. Examination of his manuscripts reveals his extraordinary attention to composition and style, rewarded by more than two and a half million copies sold in France, editions in nearly twenty-five foreign languages, an enthusiastic reception from press and public alike upon publication, and a reference edition in the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade.
A fine copy in wrappers.