CHARDONNE, Jacques (1884–1968).

A lovely exchange of friendly and literary correspondence. Plans for a collection of articles by Kleber HAEDENS on contemporary literature: ‘He is unrivalled in this genre’… Christian MILLAU’s wedding. Holidays and Brittany… Concerns about Nadine Nimier’s health. The discovery of nylon shirts. Marshal de RICHELIEU’s love letters. His childhood in Barbezieux and his discovery of literature… On the ‘techniques of the novel’. ‘Inner monologue’, or ‘psychology’, and whatever else one might call it, nonsense. Man always eludes man. 37016

It remains to be invented, in the style that is given to us.” – On the future of literature: “Literature without readers; we must get used to it. How pure it is!”… “In the old days: no cinema, no stars, no radio, no sport, no cars. The air was so pure. Like a moon in a clear sky, literature. A writer was someone”… Paul MORAND is mentioned several times: “Always a charming man; take him as he is”… Chardonne encloses a handwritten letter from Paul Morand, regarding his holiday in Ronce, Brittany (23 June). Numerous other writers and critics, as well as Gaston Gallimard, are mentioned in these letters: Colette, Henri Petit, Félicien Marceau, Claude Roy, Madeleine Chapsal, Pierre Démeron (“These pederasts aren’t very readable”), Michel Déon, Antoine Blondin, Jean-Pierre Caracalla, Dominique Aury, Pol Vandromme, Willy de Spens, René Béhaine, Robert Kemp, René CHAR (“Rousseaux can shout every month […] that Char is the greatest poet of all time; it doesn’t matter”), Bernard Frank, François Nourissier, Jean-Louis Vaudoyer, Paul Rival, Alexandre Vialatte, Henri de MONTHERLANT (“an odious and idiotic man. Stupidly pretentious”), Robert Poulet, Paul Claudel, Armand Petitjean, etc.