Le Lys dans la vallée appeared in 1836. However, Honoré de Balzac began working on this novel in 1823.
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Mainly evoking the castle of Saché and its surroundings, in Indre-et-Loire, from which Balzac is strongly inspired, this novel, written partly in Issoudun and Vienna (Austria)
Although the novel was largely written in Saché castle where Honoré de Balzac made frequent stays with his friend Jean de Margonne, the author describes the castle of valesne which is also in Saché.
The story, precisely.
Le Lys dans la vallée is the story of the intense and platonic love between Félix de Vandenesse, youngest of an aristocratic family, and the Countess Henriette de Mortsauf, virtuous wife of the Count of Mortsauf, a dark and violent man.
The manuscript
Balzac’s manuscripts are numerous. But it was indeed “Le Lys dans la Vallée” that caught the attention of Editions The Holy Fathers. Notably because it is kept in the library of theInstitute of France. This manuscript is very different from the final version. We learn more about the work, the methodology of Balzac. Like other great authors of 19th century literature, such as Jules Verne, Balzac had a mania for constantly correcting himself, for correcting in the margins that he deliberately left wide on each page.
© Radio France
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Nicolas Bedin
Once access had been granted by the Institut de France, it had to be digitized for very long weeks, then, using technical processes, particularly digital, to restore the document, in order to give the feeling of being as close as possible to the author’s original pages.
An original gift for people from Touraine
Editions Les Saints Pères are offering a limited and numbered edition of 1,000 copies of Honoré de Balzac’s manuscript.
© Radio France
–
Nicolas Bedin
To find it, go to the website of Editions les Saints Pères.