Paris, Librairie Charpentier et Fasquelle, 1897.
12mo, (2) leaves, 155 pages, (1) leaf for the colophon. Preserved in its original wrappers.
183 x 120 mm.
First edition of the last novel published during the author’s lifetime.
One of the 45 precious deluxe copies printed on Japanese paper.
With “Le Trésor d’Arlatan,” written in 1897, the year of his death, we are far from the excess of sensitivity sometimes reproached to Daudet. While the story begins as a social novel – Henri Danjou leaves Paris and takes refuge in Camargue to heal from a heartbreaking love affair – the narrative quickly turns to the fantastic, and the Provence he depicts bears no resemblance to that of Tartarin or “Lettres de mon moulin.”
“There is Zia, a very young girl – barely fifteen – naive and bright as day who carries an obscure misfortune. For three years, the priest has refused to let her access the solemn communion. Why? The theme of Maupassant’s ‘Le Horla’ is here resumed and surpassed. Because it is a case of possession described here.” Michel Tournier
The work is adorned with numerous color illustrations by H. Laurent-Desrousseaux, including the cover and 23 full-page illustrations.
Precious copy preserved as new in its original illustrated wrappers.
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