Discours annuels sur les prix littéraires

First editions of each of the annual addresses delivered by Maurice Genevoix on the occasion of the public sessions of the Académie française, held every December from 1958 to 1972, in his capacity as Secrétaire perpétuel, a position he held from September 25, 1958 to December 31, 1973.

The address for 1973 was delivered by his official successor from January 1, 1974, Jean Mistler, who began his speech with these words: “The man I am succeeding, or rather am about to succeed in a few days, is here, very much alive, and is listening to me at this moment, with the benevolence, sharpened by a smiling malice, that he shows toward his juniors. He asked me to speak in his place today, but I fear my audience may be tempted, by comparison, to miss the addresses he delivered here. For fifteen years, Maurice Genevoix carried out the duties of ‘perpétuel’ with finesse, wisdom and kindly vigilance […]. My good fortune is to succeed a living man; it allows me to banish any shadow of sadness from this address, but above all it will allow me to seek my predecessor’s counsel, and to draw lessons from his experience […] and I like to hope that, freed from the tasks that will henceforth form the bulk of mine, he will let us enjoy, through his new books, his new leisure.”

Each volume’s title page bears the year, the session, and its publication number within the Institut’s annual series, from that of December 18, 1958 to that of December 14, 1972 — the fifteen addresses he delivered. These addresses form a unique critical, aesthetic and moral panorama of French literary life over fifteen years. Genevoix consistently champions the quality of the French language, the role of writers in transmitting cultural heritage, and moral and humanist vigilance in the face of contemporary issues. They also contain numerous portraits of authors, tributes (sometimes to departed friends), reflections on literary genres (the novel, poetry, essay, theater) and on the Académie’s missions in the modern world. The Académie’s literary prizes occupy an important place, with the winners of the Grand prix de l’Académie française for those years:

1958: Henri Queffélec, Un royaume sous la mer; 1959: Gabriel d’Aubarède, La Foi de notre enfance; 1960: Christian Murciaux, Notre-Dame des désemparés; 1961: Pham Van Ky, Perdre la demeure; 1962: Michel Mohrt, La Prison maritime; 1963: Robert Margerit, La Révolution; 1964: Michel Droit, Le Retour; 1965: Jean Husson, Le Cheval d’Herbeleau; 1966: François Nourissier, Une histoire française; 1967: Michel Tournier, Vendredi ou les Limbes du Pacifique; 1968: Albert Cohen, Belle du Seigneur; 1969: Pierre Moustiers, La Paroi; 1970: Bertrand Poirot-Delpech, La Folle de Lituanie; 1971: Jean d’Ormesson, La Gloire de l’Empire; 1972: Patrick Modiano, Les Boulevards de ceinture.

Complete set, and Maurice Genevoix’s personal set, kept in his office at the Académie, quai de Conti, and later at his house “Les Vernelles.”

All the volumes bear the bookplates of both locations.