Léon Hennique Novel
Complete Novel 'A Character' & Rare French Literary Translations
Category: Octave Mirbeau – Les Écrivains
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Octave Mirbeau’s witty 1889 essay featuring a German intellectual’s surprising insights on French literature, comparing Alphonse Daudet’s graceful intimacy with Émile Zola’s powerful naturalism, while celebrating Mallarmé’s pure artistry. Last winter in the South of France, I made the acquaintance of Herr von B—, a German writer of considerable merit and, if I may put…
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Octave Mirbeau’s passionate 1890 review proclaiming Maurice Maeterlinck’s ‘Princess Maleine’ a masterpiece superior to Shakespeare. A landmark piece of literary criticism that launched the Belgian symbolist’s career. I know nothing about M. Maurice Maeterlinck. Where he is from, what he looks like – haven’t a clue. Whether he is old or young, rich or poor,…
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Octave Mirbeau’s witty 1890 essay defending Belgian poet Maurice Maeterlinck against French literary chauvinism. A masterful satire on artistic nationalism and the pretensions of young French writers who dismiss Belgium’s cultural contributions. The article I published here about Maurice Maeterlinck has brought me a deluge of letters, not to mention countless pieces in minor newspapers…
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Octave Mirbeau’s brilliant satirical essay reveals how a hilarious case of mistaken identity turned a Parisian philosophy professor into a rural peasant for all of history. A witty exploration of how errors become ‘facts’ and myths become truth. Everyone who “writes for the papers” and elsewhere makes mistakes daily. I have made them, like everyone…
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Octave Mirbeau’s scathing 1890 critique of literature’s obsession with love stories. A brilliant satirical essay arguing that while science explores the universe, literature remains stuck in the bedroom. “We need love,Even if there were none left in the world.” — Ludovic Halévy Save for a few rare exceptions (hardly encouraged at that), literature rarely ventures…
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A biting satirical essay by Octave Mirbeau examining the absurdity of manufactured public opinion through the lens of a patriotic art controversy in Belle Époque France. Sharp wit meets cultural criticism as Mirbeau skewers politicians, painters, and the press. For a moment there, we had hoped—if you can call it hope—that M. Déroulède, having tired…
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Octave Mirbeau’s scathing 1891 defence of Edmond de Goncourt against critic Robert de Bonnières. A masterclass in literary polemic featuring sharp wit, biting irony, and passionate advocacy for artistic integrity in Belle Époque France. I have never quite grasped why Ernest Renan got himself into such a state, nor understood the peculiar rage that overtook…
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Octave Mirbeau’s scathing 1891 essay exposing the persecution of writer Remy de Gourmont, fired from the National Library for criticising blind patriotism. A masterpiece of satirical journalism defending intellectual freedom against nationalist hysteria. M. Remy de Gourmont is a writer of exceptional talent and one of the most profound minds I know. But he has…
Léon Hennique Novel 