Paris (AFP)

Galerie Gallimard offers from Wednesday an exhibition Marcel Proust for the hundredth anniversary of the awarding of the Goncourt prize to the writer.

Some sixty documents, including Marcel Proust's personal notebook, "Moi prix Goncourt" (circa 1920-1921) and, for the first time, two drawings by Paul Morand loaned by the National Library of France: "Marcel Proust au Ritz "(around 1917) and" Marcel Proust on his deathbed "(November 1922), will be presented to the public until October 23rd.

Letters, manuscripts, drawings and photographs were collected from the archives of Gallimard, the House of Aunt-Léonie (Illiers-Combray), the Goncourt Prize (Nancy), the National Library of France and the Jacques Literary Library -Doucet.

The story between Proust and Gallimard began with a misunderstanding. In 1912, "On Swann's Side", the first volume of "In Search of Lost Time" completed, Proust would like to have it published at the NRF (Gallimard Publishing House). Las! his manuscript is hastily rejected. Proust falls back on Bernard Grasset who agrees to publish the book in 1913 ... on account of author. "The refusal of this book will remain the biggest mistake of the NRF," André Gide later wrote the origin of the refusal.

André Gide, Jacques Rivière (then secretary of the NRF) and Gaston Gallimard will make the reconquest of Marcel Proust one of the main priorities of the house.

"I have for your work, as for you, a jealous affection: ask me, brutally, what you want and I will work with all my strength never to disappoint you", do not hesitate to write Gaston Gallimard in one of the letters addressed to the writer.

It was only in the spring of 1916 that Gaston Gallimard finally managed to persuade Marcel Proust to detach himself from Grasset and entrust him with his next books.

In October 1917, Gaston Gallimard bought from Grasset some two hundred copies of "On the side of Swann" which were not sold. He puts them on a NRF blanket before putting them back on sale.

The reissues by Gallimard of "On the side of Swann" and "In the shadow of the girls in bloom", completed to print on November 30, 1918, will be put on sale after the war in June 1919.

It's a winning move for the Gallimard house. On December 10, 1919, Marcel Proust received the 17th Goncourt Prize for "In the Shadow of Young Girls in Bloom", the second installment of "In Search of Lost Time", against the great favorite Roland Dorgelès.

Parallel to this exhibition, Gallimard will reissue in box on September 12 the four volumes of "In search of lost time" in the prestigious collection of the Pléiade (7.408 pages, 271 euros).

© 2019 AFP