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Here is a sumptuous look at the original manuscripts of more than 100 famous French writers from the 13th to the 20th century. A billet-doux for francophiles and bibliophiles, Belles Letters offers a comprehensive look at the country's major literary and intellectual movements. Readers will delight in the rationalism of Rene Descartes, symbolist verse of Charles Baudelaire, crystalline prose of Marcel Proust, romantic intrigue of Colette, and stark existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre. Because many of the manuscripts are rare, this volume -- from the editors of Abrams' Brilliant Beginnings and Illustrated Letters -- provides the first English translation of several of the works.

Reproduced in full-color spreads, the excerpts, letters, and diary entries are accompanied by translations and analyses, as well as profiles and portraits of the authors.

Beautifully illustrated with more than 400 color plates, this book is not scholarly but sentimental. De Ayala (coeditor with Gueno of Brilliant Beginnings and Illustrated Letters) and Guéno (former director of cultural development at France's Bibliotheque National) hope to "bring the past alive" and put the reader in touch with the "emotions of human life, language and culture." To that end, each writer (e.g., Proust, Colette, Sartre) is given a two-page spread: on the left-hand side appears a biographical sketch of some facet of his or her life with a small photo or sketch and an English translation of the excerpt from the handwritten manuscript that appears on the right-hand side. Of course, the literature scholar will not glean much information from the text, and one certainly wonders what criteria the editors used to select their materials. But it is fascinating to read these excerpts, and anyone with even a passing interest in French literature will derive much pleasure from this unique and beautiful book. Recommended for all libraries. Robert T. Ivey, Univ. of Memphis Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.