Cinq jours & cinq nuits, episode du dix-huitième siècle : manuscript.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Contributor:

Faye and Gerson Blatnick Special Collections Fund.

Language:

French

Subjects (All):

French literature--19th century.

French literature.

Manners and customs.

France--Social life and customs.

France.

Genre:

codices (bound manuscripts)

Epistolary fiction.

Novels.

Manuscripts, French -- 19th century.

Penn Provenance:

Sold by Adam Weinberger Rare Books, 2022.

Physical Description:

1 volume (296 pages) ; 21.5 x 15.5 cm

Production:

France, 19th century.

Language Note:

In French.

Summary:

Cinq jours & cinq nuits, episode du dix-huitième siècle, is an unpublished, handwritten, epistolary novel, written by an unknown author, in French, probably in the early 19th century. In thirty letters, the novel tells a dramatic and romantic story of Eléonore, Clémence, Monsieur St. Val, Monsieur Delson, and Eléonore's brother, Colonel de Selez. The introduction is written from the point of view of a person who is traveling, gets caught in a storm and is forced to shelter in a public house. There, he or she discovers the the thirty letters that tell the story of Cinq jours & cinq nuits. The story follows the characters of Eléonore and Clémence, two friends; Delson and St. Val, two friends; and Colonel de Selez, Eléonore's brother. Both Eléonore and Clémence are married, but Delson pursues Clémence and St. Val pursues Eléonore. Both women eventually are seduced and the situation deteriorates rapidly, with Clémence becoming ill, Delson and Eléonore becoming friends, and St. Val becoming jealous of Delson. In the 27th letter, St. Val challenges Delson to a duel; by the 28th letter, Clémence has died; and by the last letter, Colonel de Selez reports that St. Val has killed Delson in the duel and that he, de Selez, has killed St. Val. The story ends with ends with Colonel de Selez leaving France to avoid arrest, and bidding Eléonore farewell, perhaps forever. Each letter is headed by the number of the letter (lettre première,etc.), the author and the recipient of each letter, and usually a time of day. Within each letter, the names of the characters are in a bolder script. The manuscript is bound in half leather with marbled paper covers, ribbon bookmark, and gilt spine title, Cinq jonrs & cinq nuits.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Faye and Gerson Blatnick Special Collections Fund.

Cited as:

Cinq jours & cinq nuits, episode du dix-huitième siècle (Ms. Codex 2091). Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.

OCLC:

1366217419