FOURNIER Alain Le Grand Meaulnes.

First edition, first issue [15822-9-13] in satin-finish alfa, with the cover in its first state [15824-10-13].

Our copy bears the number 991.

The only novel by the author, who died at the front on 22 September 1914.

Le Grand Meaulnes is a milestone in French literature, both resolutely modern and carrying on the lessons of the 19th century. Alain Fournier creates a realistic provincial world from which a sense of enchantment emanates. By focusing on his characters and the intense emotions of adolescence, he offers his readers a romantic reinterpretation of the coming-of-age novel.

Throughout the novel, Meaulnes becomes the standard-bearer for a quest to find the absolute in a world desperately seeking to be re-enchanted on the dawn of World War I.

Our copy does not contain the error ‘Chapter I’ on page 133; the heading ‘Chapter II’ is correctly present. This error was corrected during the printing of the first run.

A very fine copy, in excellent condition.

Provenance: François Chrétien (bookplate).