CAMUS Albert (1913-1960)

Lot 37
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40000 - 50000 EUR
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Result : 50 700EUR
CAMUS Albert (1913-1960)
Correspondence of 89 signed autograph letters addressed to Blanche BALAIN From December 7, 1937 to June 27, 1959. About 134 ink pages of different formats. Precious and exceptional correspondence of 89 unpublished letters addressed to Blanche Balain (1914-2003). In 1937, in Algiers, Camus directs a theatre troupe for which he writes, adapts, directs and plays, in the middle of his "band" of friends: Jeanne Marodon, Heurgon, Miquel the draftsman, Max Beral, Jeanne Sicard and Marguerite Dobrenn, Robert Namia and many others... He is supposed to study but the theatre and women keep him more busy than his studies. During the rehearsals for the adaptation of Gide's Prometheus, a new "actress" is introduced to him: Blanche Balain. The daughter of a good Algerian family, she was, at first, uncomfortable in this somewhat unruly and politically committed artistic environment. For her first role, she could not say "chéri", her line, to her partner. Camus, for his part, is in the prime of life. A leader, writer and charmer, he seduces easily. Blanche Balain soon falls under the shady charm of the author. Camus, a dilettante in love, finds a special charm in this young woman who writes delicate poems that she submits to her lover. A long correspondence of 20 years ensues between the two, which begins under the auspices of Eros and then turns into a literary exchange of primary importance concerning Camus' work. Camus' tone changes in the course of his letters: professorial when it concerns his friend's writings, committed when it is about politics or philosophy, or sometimes even fiery when he writes about her works and works in progress, he always remains very evasive about his personal situation. He never announces his marriage to Francine Faure in 1941, or even the birth of his children Catherine and Jean in 1945. Camus is always nostalgic for their Algerian childhood, which he often recalls, when he misses the Mediterranean sun and light, while he suffers th
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